The present day built-up area, overlooking the sea between Isola delle Femmine and Punta Raisi, is dominated by the Castle, surrounded by the medieval village, which is a distinctive element of its landscape. This Castle is linked to the tragedy of the Carini baroness, Laura Lanza di Trabia, killed in 1563 by her own father, Don Cesare. This story became a legend inspiring folk ballad-singers, puppet masters and writers.
The town centre is crowded with most relevant buildings: the Church of San Vincenzo with the adjacent convent of the Dominican nuns, the Mother church with the Oratory of the Santissimo Sacramento, the XIII century church of San Vito and the Collegio di Maria. Carini’s territory stretches down to the sea and it is possible to visit the Saracen watchtowers scattered all along the coast.
In the very surroundings of the town there are two caves which are extremely significant from a speleological, paleontological and biological point of view: the integral natural reserves of the Carburangeli and of the Grotta dei Puntali caves, where the slow percolation of water and the ongoing marine erosion created an extremely suggestive site rich in stalactites, stalagmites, odd canes and columns. A bat (Myotis myotis) colony lives in the Carburangeli cave.
USEFUL LINK
www.cariniexchange.com