Art&Style

Scicli, what to see

A weekend in the small UNESCO Baroque town and its surroundings

by Lavinia Colonna Preti
Scicli, what to see — Sicilia Secrets

In the province of Ragusa, Scicli is a small jewel of the Sicilian Baroque, still exquisitely authentic with its buildings adorned with charming masks and the romantic central square, so beautiful that it became the set of the successful series of Inspector Montalbano.

In 2002, the historic center of Scicli was awarded the title of UNESCO World Heritage Site, together with seven other municipalities in the list of the Late Baroque Cities of the Val di Noto. A visit can only begin, therefore, from its splendid main square, one of the most famous cinematographically speaking in Sicily, protagonist of the famous series Il Commissario Montalbano who in the scenic fiction has his office right inside the city’s Town Hall.

From there, you can visit the Church of San Giovanni Evangelista which houses a peculiarity: the famous “Cristo in gonnella”, a painting from the late 17th century that portrays Christ with a curious tunic that resembles a skirt. Iconography of Spanish origin, in Italy there is only one other similar painting discovered in a private oratory in Gravedona, in the province of Como.

Scicli, what to see — Sicilia Secrets
Scicli, what to see — Sicilia Secrets

It is the most beautiful city we have ever seen (…). And people are happy in cities that are beautiful.

(Elio Vittorini)

A little further on we find the Antica Farmacia Cartia, a perfectly preserved Art Nouveau shop opened by Guglielmo Cartia in 1902. Today it has become a “museum” that can be visited and inside you can admire the splendid original furniture made by the carpenter and cabinetmaker from Scicli Emanuele Russino.

The display case of poisons is wonderful and lets us travel with our imagination. It is no coincidence that the pharmacy was also a film location for Il Commissario Montalbano in the episode La Stagione della Caccia.

Scicli, what to see — Sicilia Secrets

For a typical Sicilian break, you can book Le Gioie, a small bistro overlooking a tiny square with about ten tables and the atmosphere of the village shops of the past. This is where Fiorenzo, a Sicilian from Augusta, chose to live in 2016. He fell in love with Scicli after watching some episodes of Inspector Montalbano, to the point of deciding to move there and create his own little place.

The restaurant’s menu is written in pencil every day, varying based on the freshness of the raw materials, focusing mainly on locally sourced fish recipes: from raw shrimp to fried anchovies, from linguine with tuna bottarga, marinated shrimp and lemon zest, to the marinated and smoked catch of the day with diced Pirettu lemon.

Scicli, what to see — Sicilia Secrets
Scicli, what to see — Sicilia Secrets

In the evening, you can instead opt for the small restaurant Verace where Sicilian art blends with the local food and wine tradition and then lose yourself in the streets of the center, admiring one of its characteristics: the baroque masks of its buildings.

Like those of the eighteenth-century Palazzo Beneventano, which was defined by Sir Anthony Blunt (famous art historian and English secret agent) “the most beautiful baroque palace in Sicily” where several figures are set, including curious heads of Saracens.

Scicli, what to see — Sicilia Secrets

For the night, you can book a typical Scicli residence, Sanbartolomeo Casa & Putìa, with rooms furnished with Sicilian ceramics and period furniture. In the morning, you can have breakfast on its terrace overlooking the Church of San Bartolomeo and then go shopping in the putìa, the shop, of what is truly authentic that the city has to offer.

In the immediate vicinity of Scicli, the next day you can visit the small seaside village of Sampieri and, after parking, take a walk to the Fornace Penna in Punta Pisciotto. Another protagonist of the Montalbano series, it is a suggestive industrial archaeology building on the sea built in 1909 and destroyed in 1924 due to arson.

Scicli, what to see — Sicilia Secrets

Just an hour’s drive from Scicli, you can visit other splendid UNESCO Baroque cities, such as Modica, Ragusa Ibla, Noto and the famous village of Marzamemi. There is really enough to lose yourself for days in such beauty.

The Secret

In Scicli, the Madonna delle Milizie is venerated, the only example in the entire Christian world in which the Virgin Mary is represented as a crowned warrior riding a white horse.

Scicli, what to see — Sicilia Secrets
Scicli, what to see — Sicilia Secrets
Scicli, what to see — Sicilia Secrets
Scicli, what to see — Sicilia Secrets
Scicli, what to see — Sicilia Secrets
Scicli, what to see — Sicilia Secrets
Scicli, what to see — Sicilia Secrets
Scicli, what to see — Sicilia Secrets
Scicli, what to see — Sicilia Secrets
Scicli, what to see — Sicilia Secrets
Scicli, what to see — Sicilia Secrets
Scicli, what to see — Sicilia Secrets
Scicli, what to see — Sicilia Secrets
Scicli, what to see — Sicilia Secrets
Scicli, what to see — Sicilia Secrets
Scicli, what to see — Sicilia Secrets
Scicli, what to see — Sicilia Secrets
Scicli, what to see — Sicilia Secrets
Scicli, what to see — Sicilia Secrets
Scicli, what to see — Sicilia Secrets

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