Scicli combines a UNESCO-listed Baroque heritage with a coastline that also gives your trip planning a distinct focus. The town lies in the Val di Noto and is a destination for discovering Baroque Sicily. As one of the eight urban components of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto,” Scicli is part of a cultural heritage that extends beyond the region. At the same time, the town has 20 kilometres of coastline, 18 kilometres of fine sandy beaches and four seaside resorts. This lets you include culture and the coast as separate interests in your trip; beach conditions and services may vary.
Baroque architecture and churches
Via Francesco Mormino Penna forms an ensemble of aristocratic buildings dating from the 18th century. Rather than a single building, the focus here is on the interplay between several buildings. The Chiesa di Santa Teresa offers a different emphasis: this 18th-century church features decorative art, a painted vaulted ceiling and white stone details on its columns. Geometric inlays of black and white stone add to the floor’s design. The ceiling, columns and floor thus display different forms of decoration within a church interior.
In the Chiesa di San Giovanni Evangelista, elaborate stucco and gilding accompany a remarkable 17th-century work. The so-called “Cristo di Burgos” comes from Spain and depicts Christ on the cross wearing priestly vestments. This iconography is considered very rare in Italy. Alongside its decorative features, the church interior therefore offers a clearly defined art-historical reference.
Art and collections
The Palazzo Spadaro exhibits works by artists from the Gruppo di Scicli, including Piero Guccione and Franco Sarnari. The Museo del Costume di Scicli focuses on another aspect of cultural history: its objects explore clothing from the 18th century to the first half of the 20th century, as well as traditional embroidery and weaving and other areas of material culture.
A third perspective is offered by the interior of the Palazzo Bonelli-Patanè. Designed in the Liberty style, it features stucco, fine furniture and paintings by Raffaele Scalia created between 1928 and 1938. By comparison, the Museo del Costume explores everyday life and crafts across several centuries. These different focuses give you a concrete choice when planning: architecture and interior design, painting, or clothing and textile traditions.
History at distinctive sites
Chiafura brings together settlement history and a remarkable setting: this rock settlement of Byzantine origin was inhabited until the 1950s. San Matteo, meanwhile, was Scicli’s main church until 1874 and stands on the hill above the town. The date marks the church’s former status; its hilltop location is also an important part of its significance in the townscape.
The Commissariato di Vigata also has a specific connection: it is located on the ground floor of Scicli’s early 20th-century town hall and represents the police station from the television series “Il Commissario Montalbano.” Its significance lies in the link between an actual town building and its role in the series.
Spring, landscape and coast
The spring festivals differ both in timing and in form. The Cavalcata di San Giuseppe takes place in March: a horse procession decorated with flowers that recalls the Holy Family’s flight to Egypt. The Feast of the Madonna delle Milizie takes place on the last Saturday in May. It includes a dramatic reenactment that reaches its climax with the miraculous appearance of the Virgin riding a horse. If you plan to time your trip around one of these dates, check the specific festival dates in advance.
For nature lovers, the landscapes described here offer further distinct points of interest. The Cava di San Bartolomeo is a natural gorge carved into limestone by the San Bartolomeo stream. The Macchia Foresta del Fiume Irminio Nature Reserve protects a river mouth and a Mediterranean coastal landscape with sandy banks, cliffs plunging into the sea and shifting dunes. These landforms are markedly different and complement the architectural and artistic themes with geological and coastal perspectives.
Discover more destinations: Pozzallo, Santa Maria Del Focallo, Punta Braccetto, Cimillà, Marina Di Ragusa, Giarratana, Pietre Nere San Zagaria, Frigintini.
For the regional travel overview: Ragusa.
