Stairway to Caltagirone

About forty-five minutes southeast of Villa Romana del Casale is Caltagirone: one of the island’s oldest cities, renowned for its ceramics and pottery. It was the second stop on our final road trip through Sicily.

Caltagirone

Still a healthy city of about 40,000 people, Caltagirone has been home to human activity since prehistoric days. The name comes from the Arabic “qal’at-al-ghiran”, or “Hill of Vases”, which serves as an indication of how tightly connected to pottery the town has always been. Caltagirone was completely destroyed in the 1693 earthquake that leveled much of eastern Sicily. But like Noto, it was rebuilt in grand style, with a heavy emphasis on Baroque architecture.

The most famous sight in Caltagirone is La Scala: a long, wide staircase of 142 steps found smack in the middle of town. Each step is decorated with a different set of ceramic tiles, from pastoral scenes to complicated patterns. We hiked up to the top of the stairs for an incredible view over the town and the plains below.

Caltagirone stairs

Built atop three hills, Caltagirone is one of the more picturesque cities we’ve seen in Sicily. Just the entrance, over the ancient, ceramic-decorated Bridge of San Francisco, was breathtaking. A number of gorgeous churches and palaces adorn the historic center, among which the Church of the Gesù and the Palazzo Senatorio are highlights.

Though we only had a few hours in town, it was enough time to appreciate Caltagirone’s sense of living history. And a few hours of hiking up and down the inclines and stairs of this hilly town were more than enough. But it’s a beautiful place, and definitely worth a stop-over if you’re in the region.

Location on our Sicily Map

Caltagirone stair tiles
Caltagirone architecture
Caltagirone church
Caltagirone stairs
Caltagirone mosaic
Caltagirone cityscape
Caltagirone town
Caltagirone stone balcony
Caltagirone old church
Caltagirone gate
Caltagirone visit
Caltagirone run
Caltagirone cute dog
Caltagirone souvenirs
Caltagirone town
Caltagirone light bulbs
plastic bottle Christmas tree
Weird Christmas trees from around the world.
Caltagirone nativity scene
Italy is upside down

This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. Romano Catania

    Hey, you should totally come back to Caltagirone towards the end of July, when during the celebrations of a religious event the wonderful stair is completely enlightened by thousands of little candles creating stunning pictures and paintings… it’s really breath-taking 😉

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