PalermoCaccamo.
The town has ancient origins, even if these have not been clarified with absolute certainty. The name, which is derived from caccabe ("horse-heads"), may have been given by the Carthaginians who took refuge here after their defeat at Himera in 480 BC. The Arabs promoted its growth in the 9th c., and the Normans built the castle that made it one of the major strategic centres in Sicily. It laterbecame a fief of the Chiaromonte family (14th c.), the Cabreras (1420-1480), the Henriquez (17th c.) and the Despuches.

The most characteristic monument in Caccamo is, without any doubt, the Castle, which towers majestically above a sheer-dropping rock. The Castle is a typical fortified building with continuous curtain walls, bastion and battlements. Built by the Normans, it was altered on various occasions - in the 14th c., in the Chiaromontine age, and at various other times. The windows in the façades and the balconies testify to the various historical and artistic styles. This is the castle where in 1160 Matteo Bonelli plotted against King William the Bad. On the square of the Matrice are the Chiesa Madre, the Oratorio, with notable baroque stuccos (unfortunately damaged by humidity), the Monte di Pietà and the Chiesa del Purgatorio. The Chiesa Madre, St George, built by the Normans in 1091, altered in the 15th c. and transformed in the 16th, has a façade dating from 1660, which is remarkable because of the scenographic nature of the decoration and the relief of St James, by GaspareGuercio. The powerful campanile was built over the remains of a Chiaramontine tower. The church, with a central nave and two side aisles, contains a 15th c. painted cross, and a font attributed to Domenico Gagini, the sacrament chapel (with variegated marble, and paintings attributed to Vito d'Anna), and a painting of the Virgin with Saints, attributed to Pietro Novelli; but is Matthias Stomer, who signed Stom 1641, the maker of a large painting bearing the title: St Isidorus Agricola Water Miracle's. Other works by various artists can be seen in the sacristy . In the mediaeval Chiesa della SS. Annunziata, which has a baroque façade, we can admire a carved wooden 18th c. pulpit, the stucco presbytery decoration, by Procopio Serpotta and Bartolomeo Sanseverino, and the Annunciation by Guglielmo Borremans (1725). Nearby is the Chiesa di San Benedetto alla Badia, which has a fine majolica floor attributed to Nicolò Sarzana (18th c.) and a majestic baroque railing for the enclosed nuns’ gallery.