{"id":67446,"date":"2015-04-15T11:25:05","date_gmt":"2015-04-15T10:25:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sicile-sicilia.net\/?p=67446"},"modified":"2026-10-12T19:27:59","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T18:27:59","slug":"scala-dei-turchi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sicile-sicilia.net\/en\/scala-dei-turchi","title":{"rendered":"Scala dei Turchi"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Scala dei Turchi<\/strong> (“Stair of the Turks” in English) is a rocky cliff overlooking part of the coast near Realmonte, 15 km west of Agrigento.
It has become a tourist attraction for its dazzling white color and wavy shapes, also popularized by cinema and novels, including those of the adventures of Inspector Montalbano.<\/p>\n

Description and surroundings<\/h2>\n

The staircase shapes of the Scala dei Turchi, soft and rounded, were forged into its sedimentary rock made of limestone and clay (marl) from the Lower Pliocene, by hundreds of thousands of years of action of wind, rain and waves.
Its name is inherited from the Saracen pirates, wrongly referred to as Turks by the locals, who in the 16th century landed there to plunder the coastal villages.<\/p>\n

Access and visit<\/h3>\n

Given the risks of degradation due to tourist traffic, access to the Scala dei Turchi is now highly regulated. The site is not freely accessible: a pass and reservations are required, and visitors are governed by strict rules to protect the fragile rock.<\/p>\n

In the surrounding area, about one kilometer east along the coast, is the archaeological site of the Roman Villa of Realmonte<\/strong><\/a>, from the 1st century AD, where mosaics in particular are preserved.<\/p>\n\n\n