Pollina

Pollina, in the province of Palermo, rises 750 metres above sea level.
On the northern slope of the Madonie mountains and only 94 km from the provincial capital, it has about three thousand inhabitants in winter, but increases exponentially in summer, when holidaymakers come to settle in the village to enjoy the sea and the mountains at the same time.

Pollina also includes the hamlet of Finale, which was built around watchtowers that served to warn of possible dangers.

History

Some sources speak of Pollina as a descendant of the Greek city of Apollonia, dedicated to the God of light of poetry and divination, however, documents or historiographical finds supporting this thesis are completely absent.
Another tradition has it that Pollina was founded as a gesture of love when Donna Pollina, a Norman princess, fell in love with the Arab Ayub. Their love was unfortunately bitterly opposed by their own families, forcing them to flee from place to place, in search of a suitable yet safe place to live out their love affair. They built an imposing and impregnable castle in the village with this hope.

To be honest, the only certain sources that we possess to date refer to the Hellenistic period, and more specifically to 1082, when the village is mentioned as the property of the Diocese of Troina il Casale di Polla. Later this was ceded to that of Cefalù and then to the Ventimiglia family, in 1321.