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Castello Euphemio Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

Zeddicus_Zorander: [english text follows]
Il proprietario non ha effettuato alcuna manutenzione sulla cache da lunghissimo tempo, e non risulta essere un utente attivo.
La cache viene archiviata.

Si prega di tener presente che, se una cache è stata archiviata da un revisore per mancanza di manutenzione, non verrà de-archiviata, né lo sarà ai fini dell'adozione (cfr. Linee Guida).


The owner didn't take any maintenance action since long time and he/she is not an active user.
The cache is archived.

Please remember that, if a cache is archived by a reviewer or staff for lack of maintenance, it will not be unarchived, nor it will be unarchived for the purposes of adoption (see. Guidelines).

Un saluto e buon geocaching,
Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander

Community Volunteer Reviewer for Italy, Vaticano, San Marino, Malta
Geocaching.com | Help Center | Linee Guida/Guidelines | Linee Guida Italiane/Italian Guidelines | Maltese Guidelines

More
Hidden : 10/25/2010
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
3 out of 5

Size: Size:   small (small)

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Geocache Description:

There are only a few caches in this area of Sicily. The closest to this one is at Segesta some 4 kilometers distant. Since I live in this town three months out of every year I thought it was time there was one here. This is a traditional cache located at Castello Euphemio in the town of Clatafimi-Segesta. 2021/7/30 Fellow geocachers no report there are two caches at Segesta and one at Pianto Romano.

(NOTE: I HAVE BEEN TOLD BY RELATIVES IN 2015 THAT THE HOTEL MILLE PINA HAS BEEN CLOSED AND THAT THE ROAD TO THE CASTLE RUINS HAS BEEN BLOCKED OFF BY THE TOWN DUE TO ROCK SLIDES. YOU CAN STILL REACH THE CASTLE RUIN BY GOING THE OPPOSITE WAY FROM THE CHIESA MADRE, WHICH IS NOT BLOCKED. THE ROAD MAKES A COMPLETE CIRCLE AROUND THE MOUNTAIN TOP AND THE CASTLE IS ACCESSIBLE FROM EITHER SIDE. I Placed this cache several years ago and have replaced it every time I return. Each time I return to this cache I find it destroyed. I want to thank those fellow geocachers who have, from time to time, replaced the container or log book. To those of you who may find the container or log destroyed, I hope you will be rewarded by the great views and overlook the broken container and wet log. Since I am in Italy only for three months each year I cannot check this cache regularly. The castle is reached by a well paved road that encircles the hilltop where it is located. You can drive your car right up to the castle but the last switchback is so sharp that most people leave their car and walk the last 300 or so feet up to the ruin.I usually park my car below in the parking area at the Church Crocifisso and walk past the Hotel Mille Pina up to the castle. ( The views are spectacular. I have given this cache a diffiuculty rating of 3 because of the steepness of the hill, (should you choose to walk), and because of some very light scrub where the cache is hidden. The castle is a ruin with only one tower and a few arched gates remaining. It is used by the locals for concerts, the occasional renaissance festival and, in the off season, a place for lover's trysts. Most of the time it is deserted except for an occasional curious tourist trying to find his way to the Segesta archaeological park several kilometers away. Start reading your coordinates when you reach the castle.The cache is not located in the ruin itself, but rather on the perimeter, so don't be fooled by your GPS. The ruin is worth a fifteen minute look and if you have a good imagination think about the way it must have been in the 9th century when it was built by the conquering Arabs, and the way it may have been later when the Normans destroyed it then later rebuilt it in their style in the 12th century. Calatafimi-Segesta (Sicilian: Calatafimi-Seggesta) is a small town, more popularly known simply as Calatafimi, in the Province of Trapani, in Sicily, southern Italy. The full name of the municipality was created in 1999 and is meant to highlight the presence within its territory of the 5th century BC Doric temple of Segesta, widely regarded as one of the most intact of its type. Adjoining the temple, on a nearby hilltop, is a 2nd century Roman amphitheater. History The town was developed during the age of the Muslim emirate of Sicily, when it was known as Kalat-al-fimi, referring to the defensive castle overlooking the town, now partially restored from ruins. One hypothesis for the castle's name derives it from "Castrum Phimes" - a stronghold protecting the territory of a Roman period nobleman mentioned by Cicero, Diocles Phimes. Another hypothesis derives it from "Castle of Euphemius", possibly referring to the 5th century Byzantine patriarch by that name or, more likely, to the 9th century Euphemius of Sicily, a legendary figure who was said to have brought Muslim mercenaries to Sicily in 827 to help defend his throne, only to have them conquer the island for themselves. Calatafimi's part of Sicily was one of the first to be occupied by the Aghlabids from Ifriqiya in their conquest of the island, and was one of the last centers of Islamic culture after the end of the Norman rule. The excavations near Segesta have revealed a 12th-century Islamic necropolis and mosque. There are also reference to an Islamic-period town called Calathamet, on the border of the territories of Calatafimi and Castellammare del Golfo. From 1336 until 1860, Calatafimi was feudal territory under Habsburg and Spanish nobles, despite three attempts to regain an independent status (1399, 1412 and 1802). It was on a hill near Calatafimi, called Pianto Romano, that, in 1860, Giuseppe Garibaldi and his Mille first encountered the troops of the Bourbons on a battlefield (see the Battle of Calatafimi). This was the first significant battle of the Italian unification (or Risorgimento) and it was at this battle that Garibaldi was said to have uttered the famous battle cry: "Here we make Italy, or we die". A memorial, in the form of large stone obelisk containing an ossuary of the remains of those fallen in the battle, currently marks the hilltop. In his later life, the 19th century English novelist Samuel Butler made annual trips to Calatafimi, and a street in town was named after him. Summer theater is held in the Roman amphitheater at Segesta every other year. A new archaeological museum is being created that will show findings from the Segesta archaeological excavations.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

V bevtvanyyl cynprq guvf pnpur va n cvyr bs ebpxf ng gur onfr bs n frg bs fgnvef arne gur nepujnl. Or pnershy bs gur fvax ubyr arne gur obggbz. Ybbx yrsg juvyr snpvat gur nepujnl. Qb abg tb qbja gur fgnvef oruvaq lbh.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)