An extraordinary space carved into the rock, which—according to various scholars—was originally a Paleochristian chapel, or possibly, according to others, a pre-existing mosque. Later, when a residential building was constructed above the “grotto,” the space was adapted into an oil mill (trappitu), following the common practice of small landowning farmers.

The site is composed of two main areas: the milling zone, where olives were crushed using a stone wheel, and the press area, where a large oak-wood press was used to squeeze the crushed olive paste. From there, the oil flowed out and was left to settle in basins carved directly into the rock.

The current owners have chosen to preserve and enhance the site, transforming it into a place for historical research and cultural events.

 

This element has been included in the Register of Intangible Heritage of local interest of the Municipality of Buscemi, as part of Intervention 2 “Activation of the Observatory on the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Territory through the application of the REIL methodology – Register of Intangible Heritage of Local Interest”, within the”Buscemi Borgo Immateriale” project, funded by the NRRP (National Recovery and Resilience Plan), Mission: Digitalisation, innovation, competitiveness, culture and tourism, Component: Tourism and culture 4.0, Investment 2.1 “Attractiveness of villages.” CUP: I84H22000050006.