As you enter in the borgo, you’ll see the ruins of the medieval neighborhoods, often reused as stables or vegetable gardens, and the old streets of Carceri Vecchie where,  from a byzantine church, a route full of tombs and caves starts. Here, one is immediately caught by the typical “Sicilian” atmosphere: even if you do not see donkeycarts or women with their hair twisted behind the nape, sitting on stools of straw in front of their house, however, the small constructions still have a hole in the door (“iattaruala”) for the cat, and small windows on the door (“giustieddu”) that allow you to see outside without being seen. All these typical details of a Sicily of the past,  that you can also find in the streets Vittorio Emanuele and Umberto I and in the old popular districts of Castelverde and Calanconi. Via Vittorio Emanuele is the “Holy Street”, because here you can admire the five religious buildings of the historic center of Ferla. The Church of the Carmine is dedicated to Santa Maria del Carmelo, connected to a convent abolished in 1789. The façade has two different architectural orders, doric and ionic. The interior has only one nave. Continuing along the “sacred route” you’ll reach the Church of San Sebastiano, the largest of the borgo, during. Erected by the architect Michelangelo di Giacomo in 1741, it has three naves and eight chapels. The central nave has a wooden altar with basreliefs enriched with colored mirrors. The large canvas by Giuseppe Crestadoro, dating 1789, represents the Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian. The next church you’ll meet is the Mother Church, bearing on the portal an ancient example of the municipal coat of arms (1763). The  Church structure was built in two architectural orders and the interior is rich of stuccoes and sculptures. Going on, the Church of Sant’Antonio is the most beautiful of the Borgo, thanks to its Baroque facade, the bell towers (the one on the left has collapsed during the earthquake of 1908) and the interior. The Greek cross plan (each axis of the cross was to measure 33 meters, the age of Christ at death) is crowned by an octagonal dome frescoed with the Triumph of Sant’Antonio Crestadoro. Interesting are also the fourteen stucco sculptures representing the cardinal and theological virtues. Walking up along Garibaldi Street, you’ll reach the Church of Santa Maria, the last of the sacred route, which was a convent, a school and a prison. It is worth a visit for the presence of a wooden crucifix of Frate Umile from Petralia, dated 1633. In some civil buildings in via Umberto, the baroque style is mixed with  the art nouveau style of the beginning of the century. Along the Garibaldi Street you can also admire the sumptuous Baroque balcony of Mirabella Palace, which houses the parish museum.

Almost every family of Ferla owns a small garden with olive trees, from which an excellent extra virgin olive oil is produced.

The typical dish is the homemade focaccia filled with beets, tomatoes and dried chunks of sausage, pork sausage of Ferla, appreciated throughout the region. Excellent desserts, fancy cakes stuffed with ricotta cheese, sweet and cinnamon, the sfingi, zeppole (donouts) fried in oil and seasoned with honey or sugar, the typical sweets of the November Feast of San Martino.

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