Scicli

The town, which sits in a valley between rocky hills just 40km from the Resort, is famous for its baroque buildings. Among these the Benevento Palace, one of the most interesting of the entire Ragusa  area.  In  the  former  monastery  of  San  Michele there  is  the  “Museo  del Costume Mediterraneo” where to find out about the customs and culture of Val di Noto. The Town Hall and via  Mormino  Penn  have  become  familiar  spots  to  viewers  of  the  TV  series  “Il  Commissario Montalbano”.

History
Settlements of the area of Scicli dates back to theCopper and Early Bronze Ages (3rd millennium BC to the 15th century BC). Scicli was founded by the  Sicels (whence probably the name) around 300 BCE. In the Middle Ages, like all of Sicily, Scicli was  ruled by the Arabs, under whom it lived a flourishing period as agricultural and trade center, and then, after its conquest by Roger I of Hauteville in 1091, by the Normans. Scicli was one of the garrison rebelled against theAngevine domination in the Sicilian Vespers (April 5, 1282). Following the various dynasties ruling the Kingdom of Sicily, it was an Aragonese-Spanish possession before being united in the Kingdom of Italy in the mid nineteenth century. Following a catastrophic earthquake in 1693, much of the town was rebuilt in the Sicilian baroque style, which today gives the town the elegant appearance that draws many tourists to visit it. 

Did you know?
The  city  is  also  frequently  used  as  a  film  set,  most  recently  for  Marco  Bellocchio’s  “Il  regista  di matrimony”i and is popular in Italy as the home of Il Commissario Montalbano, a popular television series. The city is also notable for its religious parades which includes “Presepe” (nativity scenes) enacted in the caves surrounding the city at Christmas time. These caves, known as the “Chiarafura” caves, were dug out in the tuff cliffs, and some were inhabited by the local poor as recently as 1958. At  Easter,  the  city  celebrates  with  the  “Uomo  Vivo” parade which involves  a  long  religious procession  through  the  city.  A  decorated  horse  parade  takes  place  in  March,  from  Scicli  to  the neighbouring town of Donnalucata. The most spectacular religious festival, the “A Maronna i Milici” occurs in May, commemorating the appearance of the Madonna on a white horse holding aloft a sword. This encouraged the Christian Normans to defeat the Saracens in 1091.

Some places not to be missed

• Church of San Matteo, which was the local Mother Church until 1874. It is located on the eponymous hill in the Old City.
• The church of Santa Marìa la Nova, with a huge Neoclassicist façade.
• The interior houses a cypresse-wood statue of Madonna della Pietà, probably of Byzantine origin.
• The scenographic St. Bartolomeo, in Baroque style.
• Palazzo Fava, one of the first and largest Baroque palaces in the town. Notable are the late-Baroque decorations of the portal and the balconies, especially the one on the Via San Bartolomeo.
• The Town Hall, the Palazzo Spadaro and the Palazzo Beneventano, all boasting Baroque decorations.

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