TrapaniPoggioreale.
An archaeological area (it can be visited) possibly
dating from the 7th c. BC has been identified on
Monte Castellazzo. The town of Poggioreale (alt.
393 m), founded in 1642 at the foot of the mountain
by Francesco Morso, was severely damaged by the
earthquake in 1968 and abandoned; from a distance
it looks intact.
The new town was built further S, at Mandria di
Mezzo: the layout is circular, with groups ofhouses
spreading out, connected to the central services
by a main thoroughfare. Even if it lacks the atmosphere
of the old town, there are schools and shops, the
main square, the Chiesa Madre Maria SS. Immacolata
built in 1985, the Civic Folklore and Archeological
Museum, etc.
