Mount Bonifato, Mountain peak in Alcamo, Italy

Mount Bonifato is a mountain in the hinterland of the Golfo di Castellammare, between the Freddo river to the west and the Jato to the east. It reaches 825 metres, with steep southern faces and a gentler northern slope above Alcamo. A paved municipal road, Via per il monte Bonifato, climbs through holiday houses to the Bosco di Alcamo reserve, whose Aleppo pines date from 1930s reforestation.

A fortified town called Longuro stood on the summit from the late Bronze Age, inhabited by Elymians, Romans and Byzantines and defended by walls on three sides. A 1182 document names the site Bonifato after the Roman knight who owned it; Frederick II ordered its depopulation in 1243 and Frederick III had it repopulated in 1333. At the end of the 14th century the Ventimiglia family built a four-towered castle on the peak.

The name Bonifato appears in a document from 1182 about land grants, referring to a Roman knight who became owner of the settlement. The ancient town on the mountain was called Longuro, as cited by Lycophron, and was also known as Aereo and Longarico. The Funtanazza, a rectangular structure with pillars supporting a barrel vault, resembles Moorish fountains on the North African coast; some scholars consider it a water reservoir, others a thermal plant.

The climb requires moderate fitness, with trails passing through pine forests offering varied terrain, especially on the steeper southern sides. Bring comfortable hiking shoes and plenty of water, particularly during summer months.

The Funtanazza, among the remains of the ancient town, is a rectangular structure with pillars supporting a barrel vault, compared in the sources to Moorish fountains on the northern coasts of Africa. Its function is debated: some consider it a water reservoir, others a thermal plant.