Only a pile of ash remained from the Mondello family’s shed in the well-known Patti, destroyed late on Saturday evening by a violent fire that broke out in the Galice district, in the “Simenzaru” area, near the motorway junctions.
The fire, which broke out before midnight, quickly assumed imposing proportions: a column of fire and smoke, visible even from several kilometers away, illuminated the entire coastal strip for hours. Inside the structure the flames destroyed everything. Among what was lost was also “Don Liu cu sciccareddu”, the official mask of the historic Patte Carnival, symbol of the event and traditional forerunner of the parades. A loss which, in addition to the material damage caused by the fire, directly affects one of the most recognizable symbols of the city’s popular tradition. At the moment, no hypothesis has been ruled out: it will be the work of the investigators to clarify whether the fire had an accidental origin or whether there are elements attributable to a malicious act.
