Book Hotels
Reserve online, pay at the hotel
'Best price guaranteed' by booking.com
See also: Italy car hire
Visit Scicli
Scicli is found in south-east Sicil. As one of the towns in the area severely damaged by an earthquake in 1693 and rebuilt in baroque style, it also forms part of the Val di Noto World Heritage Site.
The peculiarity - and attraction - of Scicli is largely due to its setting and the surrounding natural environment. The town is organized at the intersection of the Valley of “San Bartolomeo” and “Santa Maria La Nova”, known as the "Cave"; in the middle there are the rocky hills of “San Matteo”, “Rosario” and of the “Croce.” At close range there is the sea.
The old center of Scicli is near the hill of San Matteo. After the 1693 earthquake the town kept its medieval structure, and the monasteries and convents were rebuilt with a typical baroque opulence paid for by the local nobility.
The Baroque style is evident everywhere in Scicli, not only in the civil and religious buildings, but also in its details. The Baroque style is accompanied, in some cases by the Neoclassical style - remember that the “Baroque New Town” was erected in the middle of the 18th century.
The most mature examples of the Baroque style in Scicli are found in the religious architecture.This is partly because many aristocratic palaces were lost as a result of urban renovation carried out between the 19th and 20th centuries. Therefore a visit to the Baroque and Neoclassic town can start with the religious buildings. These are very numerous, because, in addition to the churches in Scicli town itself, Scicli has numerous rocky churches.
Scicli town planning and origins
The first urban plan for Scicli was formed by the “Castello dei tre cantoni”, at the top of the hill of “San Matteo”. This was a defensive structure that, over the centuries, was enlarged and used first by the Arabs, then by the Normans and then it became a military outpost of the County of Modica. The castle is dated to the thirteenth century, but according to studies its origins date back to the first half of the twelfth century.
The Castle has a triangular tower, while to the northeast stands a large wall, terminating in a quadrangular tower. The reason for having an unusual triangular tower is unknown, but thought to be symbolic (possibly related to the three points of Sicily itself) rather than a military function. Remember that the “Castello dei tre cantoni” is actually composed of two fortifications, the so-called "Castelluccio", located higher up, and the "Castellaccio", located at a lower level
Churches in Scicli
In the valley below Scicli castle the most interesting religious buildings are the churches of “San Bartolomeo” and “Santa Maria La Nova.”
Church of San Bartolomeo
The interior of the Church of San Bartolomeo is also the richest of the city with regard to works of art. Worthy of mention is the "Deposition" by Mattia Preti (1613-1699) in the left transept. In front of the painting by Mattia Preti, in the north transept, there is a crib scene which is one the most important of Sicily. The origins of the church date back at least to the 15th century, and according to Antonino Carioti it do not seem to have been seriously damaged in the earthquake of 1693. The façade is a document of the transition from the late Baroque to the Neo-classical architecture. The façade, in fact, was started at the end of the eighteenth century by Antonio Salvatore Mazza (18th century); it was redesigned by Salvatore D’Ali (19th century) and concluded in the third order only in 1815 by P. Ventura (19th century). In 1822 the wrought iron gate by S. D’Ali was added.
The interior has a single nave and a Latin cross plan. On either side of the entrance there are two marble tombs, built by Francesco Lucchese (17th century); among the paintings we mention the "Immaculate Conception with Saints Bartholomew and William”, by Francesco Cassarino (1582-1637), located in the south transept near the Chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows. Notable is also the altarpiece of “the Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew”, by Francesco Pascucci (1748-1803).
Church of Santa Maria la Nova
The Church of Santa Maria La Nova has multiple 'characters' because of the complexity around its constrution. The interior has three naves and it is in an eclectic Neo-classical style. Note particularly the wooden sculpture of the "Risen Christ," attributed to F. Pastore (18th century). The church has a façade with three orders divided into three sections by pilasters. The original project was by Giuseppe Venanzio Marvuglia (1729-1814) and then some reconstruction works were directed by Giovanni Emanuele Cardona(active between 1720 and 1820) and completed in 1801 with the stuccos by Emanuele and Domenico Ruiz (19th century). In the apse stands out the large painting depicting the "Nativity of Mary", attributable to Sebastiano Conca [1680-1764] ( or to Tommaso Pollace [1748-1831]). Another notable painting is the "Virgin of Mercy". In the vault there are five paintings by G. Di Stefano (19th century), depicting scenes from the life of Christ, the “Adoration of the Shepherds”, “Presentation of Jesus in the temple”, “Jesus among the doctors”, and “Christ and the holy women.”
Other Scicli highlights
Among the civil buildings, the “Palazzo Beneventano” certainly stands out for the invention of the balconies with the bizarre grotesques.
Finally, for lovers of sun and sea, the coast of Scicli is the largest in the whole province of Ragusa and it extends from Pozzallo to Marina di Ragusa, with seaside resorts such as Sampieri, Costa Carro, Cava d' Aliga, Donnalucata and Playa Grande.
For the gourmets we note that the traditional cuisine of Scicli offers fresh and semi-mature cheeses, and that the speciality is the so-called “pasta ’ncasciata.”
See also Scicli history and etymology.
See the the Sicily travel guide for more places to visit in the same region as Scicli.