Le Tholoi

The Tholoi, scattered throughout the territory of the municipality of Raccuja and in the neighboring countries, are small-sized circular buildings intended for pastoral use, made with dry assembled sandstone and limestone ashlars. Generally they are about 2 meters high and have a cover that resembles the shape of a dome but uses only the heavy static system. The origins of these fascinating archaic structures are uncertain: some sources report that they date back to the first period of the Greek colonization of Sicily, around the 6th century BC, when they were built as funeral buildings. Starting from the XVII-XVIII century AD they were converted into a refuge for the Jewish shepherds who in these remote countryside had been bringing their cattle to the pastures, as still today.