Book Hotels
Reserve online, pay at the hotel
'Best price guaranteed' by booking.com
See also: Italy car hire
Visit Comiso
Comiso is a town in southern Sicily, north-west of Ragusa and south-east from Gela.
It is a town rich in monuments, some of which are very famous and worthy of special mention as you prepare a visit.
Castle of the Naselli
In the north of Comiso is the Castle of the Naselli, an imposing structure built over many years and notable for the 14th century tower, a lodge of the 16th century, and a 14th century iron gate. The first reliable information about the castle date back to the first half of the 14th century, but it was only completed towards the end of the 15th century. The Renaissance castle had its foundations on a building dating to the classical era, as seen in several busts and Roman inscriptions which were incorporated into the new building. The building belonged to various lords of Comiso, such as the Berlinghieri, Chiaramonte, Cabrera and Naselli, who bought it in the mid-fifteenth century.
The oldest part of the Castle is the Baptistery, dedicated to St. Gregory the Great and with remains of Byzantine frescoes dating back to the 11th century. The castle has a round tower to the north, which was originally an Arabic “cuba”, and a square tower on the east side. The northern part of the castle features an elegant window with three lights, resembling the style of Sebastiano Serlio (1475-1554).
Comiso churches
The numerous churches in Comiso are of great artistic value. The Mother Church, dedicated to "Santa Maria delle Stelle," is characterized by a slender main façade and inside by a wooden ceiling decorated with 17th century frescoes. It was built in the 15th century on the site of a pre-existing temple dedicated to “St. Mary of the Mill”, because of its proximity to a mill. After a disastrous earthquake in 1693 it was destroyed, and then rebuilt in 1699 thanks to the generous contribution of the Naselli family. The pillars and pointed arches of the nave remain from the original construction. The dome, of neo-Gothic style, was completed in 1894, while the tower was completed in 1936. Inside we can admire a fine wooden ceiling, a work of Antonino Alberti, called “Barbalonga” (1600-1649), a marble statue of Our Lady of Mount ‘Carmelo’, attributed to the school of Antonello Gagini (1478-1536), the high altar in polychrome marble and lapis lazuli and the funeral monument to Baldassarre V Naselli (1696-1753).
The Church of the Annunciation has a monumental stairway and is divided into three barrel naves decorated with fine stucco. The church was built on the remains of the earlier Byzantine church of St. Nicholas (XVI century). Because of the earthquake of 1693, the temple was severely damaged, but it was rebuilt in neoclassical style in the late eighteenth century by G.B. Cascione Vaccarini (17th century). The dome, designed by S. Girlando (a local artist, 19th century), was completed in 1885. At the top of a staircase, the church has a Latin cross and it is divided into three naves with barrel vault supported by 10 large arches. The interior is decorated with works of considerable importance, including a polychrome wooden statue of St. Nicholas of the fourteenth century, two paintings of St. Fiume depicting "The Resurrection" and "The Nativity", a wooden crucifix attributed to Brother Umile from Petralia of the seventeenth century, and finally a valuable painting of the 'Assumption of Mary ", signed by “Narcisus Guidonius”.
The Church of the Capuchins is located in the south of the town, where there is the precious tabernacle with wooden carvings and friezes turtle leather. The Church had an adjoining cemetery, in which are preserved some mummies of men and women of local nobles. The church is located in the upper part of the town, where once stood the convent of the Capuchin fathers, already home to Queen Margaret Hospital. The temple, dating back to the early decades of the seventeenth century, has a single nave and inside there are works of great artistic interest, among which a fine altar with wooden inlays. Of Gothic-Catalan style, however, is the church of San Francesco, built in the XIV century, with adjoining an an elegant cloister dating back to the fifteenth century. Inside it keeps a marble sarcophagus with a statue of the School of Gagini, at the top of the monument dedicated to Gaspare Naselli (16th century), Earl of Comiso.
The Church of San Francesco the Immaculate was built under the Chiaramonte, the feudal lords of Comiso, in the early fourteenth century. The Church has a single nave and a square apse, with a small apse dome clearly inspired by the Arab-Gothic style. Beside the church is the convent of the Friars Minor, which has a cloister surrounded by a sober Renaissance-style portico. Inside there is the tomb of Baldassare II, by Antonello Gagini, made up of a sarcophagus, on the cover of which is a statue. The monument is surmounted by a quadrangular tile depicting the “Madonna and Child”; there are numerous paintings by unknown authors, representing the “Immaculate Virgin”, “San Placido”, “Santa Tecla” and “ San Donato.”
The 16th century church of San Biagio has three naves with a central dome, which were completely destroyed in the earthquake of 1693. In the 18th century it was rebuilt with a single nave, and with a small bell tower covered with baked enamel. outside was placed a stone statue depicting the patron saint. The façade, really impressive, is marked by pilasters and niches.
Last but not least is the Church of Jesus with the attached chapel of the Filipino father. The church was built in the early decades of the seventeenth century to house the congregation of the Filipino fathers. The façade, really impressive, is marked by pilasters and niches. The building houses a valuable wooden ceiling by Gaspare Ciriaci (1691-1779), with a series of paintings depicting scenes from the life of St. Filippo Neri.
Other Comiso highlights
Worthy of note in Comiso is the civic museum, located at the Old Fish Market in the “Piazza delle Erbe”. The museum houses a rich collection of fossils from different geological ages, and the substantial remains of the Quaternary vertebrates and minerals in Sicily. It also has hundreds of shells, about two thousand land and sea animals.
In the vicinity of Comiso, near the town of Victoria, we can also visit the ruins of “Camarina” colonized by Syracuse in 598 BC. Remaining parts of the city include archaic walls and a tower. Of particular interest are the remains of some Hellenistic houses, such as the "Merchant's House", where some weights and measuring instruments were discovered. Also imposing are the remains of the “Athenaion”, the temple of Athena dating back to the fifth century BC, some sections of the port, and several cemeteries.
During your tour of Comiso we suggest a visit to some typical restaurants, where tourists can taste the local gourmet "cavati" (pasta flour and water) or something sweet like "caddureddi" and the “mustata” (pasta flour, bran, mixed with the juice, cinnamon, cloves, orange peel and chopped almonds). Excellent is also the “home-made bread”, topped with cheese, anchovies and oregano, with dishes like the “spaghetti” with squid ink and the seafood omelette.
See also Comiso history and etymology. Note: photo is copyright.