Conquered by the ceramics of Sciacca ... ready for those of Caltagirone!

I suggest you to take your car, before going in the centre of Sciacca, and start with the discovering of two places in different locations. The first one is the "Enchanted Castle", a real rock-show created by the inventiveness of man and nature, where, in addition to the olive and almond trees, the carved and chiseled heads rise in the rock, carved by Filippo Bentivegna, known as “Filippu di li testi”, or Filippo of heads (and you will understand why this nickname!) a true artist with an immense creative capacity, one of the greatest exponents of art brut or outsider art.

The second place where I suggest to go with your car, is in the opposite side of the town As I told you, Sciacca is famous in the world also for its incredible Carnival! The Museum of the Sciacca Carnival offers a captivating journey through history, not only of a festival, but also of a truly enjoyable experience for both young and old. Inaugurated in 2010, it preserves beautiful testimonies of the Sciacca Carnival, amongst which a collection of about 100 historical ceramic models, reproduced miniatures of Parade Floats that took part in previous editions of the festival. A photo gallery at the entrance displays attractive freeze-frame images of the Carnival. This is followed by some historical costumes, the exhibition of the Parade Float miniatures, papier-mâché reconstructions of typical Sicilian wine and gastronomic products and a particular section dedicated to local pottery. Finally, if you want to have a Carnival experience by creating your own masks, the Ecomuseo Diffuso di Sciacca will be able to suggest the right experience for you!

I suggest to reach Piazza Noceto by car, after having visited the Carnival Museum, to have a look at one of the enjoyable squares of Sciacca ...

It's time for lunch! This is another restaurant not to be missed, a delight for the taste ...

And now it's time to discover the center of the town! Leave your car and have a good walk! Here you can enjoy a breathtaking view; great way to start your city tour! As I told you at the beginning, yesterday, if you want to discover some of the architectural beauties of the city, here is a suggested izi.TRAVEL audioguide on the Churches of the city!

The "Francesco Scaglione" House Museum testifies a 19th-century "setting" museum, a typical private collection, as rich individuals were used to during the 18th and 19th centuries in Europe. Born in Sciacca in 1859 to a middle-class family, Francesco Scaglione lived between Sciacca, Palermo and Rome, where he died in 1938. Passionate collector and art lover, he was Honorary Inspector of the Ancient and Fine Arts of Agrigento. The seat of the Museum is the home of the Scaglione family, bequeathed in 1969 to the Municipality of Sciacca. The building is located in the historic center, next to the Duomo, in the place where the Church of Santo Stefano, demolished in the 16th century, once stood. On the first floor, the largest representative area overlooks a small internal garden, while the private areas overlooks the square. All the rooms are covered with vaults almost always painted in tempera, and the floors still retain some interesting 19th-century majolica. Rooms 1° - 5° reconstruct the original context, respecting the decoration and furnishings of the 19th-century apartment: representative rooms furnished with Sicilian handcrafted furniture and adorned with paintings, objects and knick-knacks, vintage photographs and family portraits. Rooms 6° - 9° display the riches and precious collections. In addition, numerous paintings are distributed throughout the rooms in chronological order.

Clearly Sciacca is not just ceramic, but there are other typical local products ... If you want, you can also book 1-hour experience in making or decorating ceramic, in a potter's workshop: ask Ecomuseo Diffuso di Sciacca, they will be able to suggest the right ceramic experience for you!

If instead you prefer to have a bit of relax, here is the right place, just in front of the sea and the beautiful harbor, before leaving Sciacca and driving to Caltagirone!

Welcome to Caltagirone, the city of ceramics, famous in the world! Historically it has been named with the titles Urbs Gratissima (in Latin a welcome, well-liked city) and Queen of the Erean Mountains. Historically known for the peculiar and traditional production of ceramics, today it is an important agricultural and tourist center, with its own industrial development area, as well as one of the largest urban centers in the Sicilian hinterland. The historic center, characterized by the late Baroque style, built after the 1693 earthquake, was awarded the title of World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2002. You will see tomorrow its beautiful urban landscape, made of many churches and buildings in the Baroque style, embellished with polychrome ceramic inserts. Caltagirone will appear as a sort of ceramics open-air museum!

Before resting, after a busy day, we need a restaurant that can meet the expectations of our guests ...

Welcome to the B&B 'I Mori', an accommodation facility in the heart of the historic center of Caltagirone, just near to the historic staircase 'Santa Maria del Monte', you will discover tomorrow! Leave your car (the B&B offers the possibility of free parking) and have finally a great rest here! Goodnight!