Scicli in a day: between the three canyons, the palaces and the set of Montalbano

25 minutes

You start from Piazza Italia, a long rectangular square that covers the San Bartolomeo stream. To understand where you are, look at the sides of the city: Scicli stands where three valleys carved into the Iblean plateau meet, called cave: that of San Bartolomeo, that of Santa Maria la Nova and that of the Modica-Scicli stream. Surrounding it are three hills: San Matteo, la Croce and Monte Campagna. The baroque city was born in this intertwining of rock and water. On the square face the Chiesa Madre and, a little further on, Palazzo Fava. At the end of May, the feast of the Madonna delle Milizie takes place here.

30 minutes

On the long side of the square is the Chiesa Madre, dedicated to Sant’Ignazio di Loyola. Built in the Seventeenth century and rebuilt after the earthquake of 1693, it became the mother church of the city in 1874, replacing the ancient church of San Matteo on the hill. Inside is the statue of the Madonna delle Milizie, the Madonna on horseback. Tradition tells that in 1091, the Virgin appeared on a white horse to help the Normans of Ruggero d’Altavilla, who were about to be defeated by the Saracens. The sanctuary dedicated to the Madonna is located in Donnalucata, where tradition places the battle. Every last Saturday in May, the square hosts the sacred representation of the battle, with a medieval parade. For the occasion, Teste di Turco are prepared, large cream or ricotta-filled pastries.

25 minutes

From Piazza Italia, take via San Bartolomeo. Palazzo Fava is one of the first large baroque palaces of the reconstruction and has a famous balcony, the balcony of the Griffins: the brackets are carved with griffins and bearded faces. Further along, the road enters the cava di San Bartolomeo, an urban canyon enclosed between the hill of San Matteo and that of la Croce. At the bottom, in front of the rock face, is the church of San Bartolomeo. This corner has also been a set of Montalbano: the canyon and the church appear in several episodes.

30 minutes

Return to the centre and take via Francesco Mormina Penna, the most elegant pedestrian axis, which widens into a small square in front of the Town Hall. The Town Hall, built in the early Twentieth century, has an eclectic façade that many recognise immediately: in the series, it is the Vigàta police station. Scicli has been the main set of Commissioner Montalbano since 1999 and of Young Montalbano since 2012. On the ground floor, you can visit the original set, with Montalbano's office; the mayor's room serves as the questor's office. Even without entering, it’s worth stopping in the small square: it’s in front of the Town Hall that Montalbano parks his Fiat Tipo in the series.

25 minutes

Next to the Town Hall stands the church of San Giovanni Evangelista, rebuilt in the Eighteenth century after the earthquake. The concave-convex façade, in three tiers, has a wrought iron grille on the second level, and a staircase that follows its curve. The façade seems almost to jut out towards passers-by, and alongside the sobriety of the Town Hall, gives the small square a striking effect.

35 minutes

A little further on is the church of San Michele Arcangelo, with its Eighteenth-century façade, nestled between two noble palaces: Palazzo Spadaro and Palazzo Bonelli Patanè. Palazzo Spadaro is recognised by its eight wrought iron balconies and rococo geometric decorations. It houses a pinacoteca with works by the Gruppo di Scicli, the artists linked to the city, including Piero Guccione, Franco Polizzi and Franco Sarnari. The palace also has a small bridge, called the lovers' bridge. The street is a gallery of Eighteenth and Nineteenth-century façades: for UNESCO, together with Palazzo Beneventano, it is a masterpiece of late baroque.

30 minutes

Palazzo Bonelli Patanè is from the 19th century, but the interior is entirely frescoed between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century and retains original furnishings and tapestries. It is one of the last testimonies of an aristocratic and bourgeois world. On the same street is the Antica Farmacia Cartia, from 1902, and the Museum of Costume and Cuisine, in the former monastery of San Michele, with garments and fabrics from the Iblean tradition. These are three small visits just a few steps from each other: you can choose just one.

20 minutes

From Via Nazionale, in a side street, you find Palazzo Beneventano, from the 18th century and considered one of the most beautiful examples of late Sicilian Baroque. According to the English art historian Anthony Blunt, it is the most beautiful Baroque palace in Sicily. It has two façades joined by a sculpted corner, with mask heads, Moorish heads and fantastic animals on the brackets, and balconies with bulging railings. It is a palace to be viewed calmly, walking around the corner. This is the point where you understand why Scicli is on the UNESCO list.

30 minutes

At the eastern end of the centre, you enter the cave of Santa Maria la Nova, a narrow urban corridor between the rock and the houses. At the end, the church of Santa Maria la Nova closes the cave with its three-tiered façade and bell tower. Its origins date back to the Byzantine era. Inside, there is a wooden statue of the Risen Christ, by the Catanese sculptor Francesco Pastore, whom the people of Scicli call the Uomo Vivo. A little higher, via a staircase leading to a paved forecourt, is the church of Consolation, from the 17th century, with a mosaic marble flooring.

45 minutes

End the day with the climb to the hill of San Matteo, about five hundred metres of uphill walking. At the top, the church of San Matteo was the oldest in Scicli and the main one in the city until 1874. Today it is in poor condition and often not open, but from here the centre can be seen in its entirety, with the three caves at its feet. On the hillside extends Chiafura, an ancient neighbourhood of cave houses inhabited until the 1960s. On the ridge are the Castellaccio, a Norman tower, and the castle of the Three Cantons, which controlled the meeting point of the three valleys. Chiafura is now only visitable on special occasions, with guided tours.