{"id":67458,"date":"2015-04-01T19:58:59","date_gmt":"2015-04-01T18:58:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sicile-sicilia.net\/?p=67458"},"modified":"2026-10-12T19:28:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T18:28:13","slug":"coastal-itinerary-west-of-agrigento-towards-sciacca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sicile-sicilia.net\/en\/coastal-itinerary-west-of-agrigento-towards-sciacca","title":{"rendered":"Coastal itinerary west of Agrigento towards Sciacca"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

Itinerary west of Agrigento, starting from Pirandello’s birthplace south of the town, continuing through Porto Empedocle to Seccagrande, following the coastline, passing by the Roman villa of Realmonte, the Scala dei Turchi, Siculiana, the Torre Salsa nature reserve, Capo Bianco and the mouth of the Platani.
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From Porto Empedocle to Siculiana, passing by the Pirandello House<\/h2>\n

Pirandello’s birthplace<\/h3>\n

Heading towards the coast south of Agrigento is the birthplace of Luigi Pirandello<\/strong>, about four kilometres from the town centre, on a plateau overlooking the sea, surrounded by olive trees and oaks, a landscape the writer described as that of his native countryside. The building, an old rural farmhouse from the late 18th century, was classified as a national monument in 1949, restored and turned into a museum in 1987.<\/p>\n

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Luigi Pirandello<\/strong> (1867-1936) was a Sicilian writer, playwright and poet, a central figure of modern Italian literature. His work explores identity, the fragmentation of the self and the relativity of reality. Among his novels translated into French are The Late Mattia Pascal<\/em> and The Old and the Young<\/em>, as well as a vast collection of short stories gathered in Short Stories for a Year<\/em>. His theatre, with plays such as Six Characters in Search of an Author<\/em>, profoundly transformed the European stage. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1934 for his body of work.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Inside, the exhibition rooms preserve manuscripts, photographs, original editions with dedications, as well as personal objects and posters related to Pirandello’s works, making the house a major documentary and memorial centre for the author. A paved path runs alongside the house and leads to the “Pirandello pine”, an ancient maritime pine under which the author loved to meditate and where his ashes were placed in accordance with his last wishes.<\/p>\n

Porto Empedocle<\/h3>\n

Heading west, one reaches the port town of Porto Empedocle<\/strong>. Near the port stands the Carlo V tower<\/strong>, built in the 16th century, the town’s main monumental testimony and a reminder of its strategic importance during the time of Spanish rule.<\/p>\n\n\n