{"id":68199,"date":"2015-09-20T13:21:53","date_gmt":"2015-09-20T12:21:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sicile-sicilia.net\/?p=68199"},"modified":"2026-10-13T09:15:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T08:15:18","slug":"visiting-caltagirone-what-to-see-and-itinerary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sicile-sicilia.net\/en\/visiting-caltagirone-what-to-see-and-itinerary","title":{"rendered":"Visiting Caltagirone: what to see and itinerary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the charming medieval-old centre of Caltagirone<\/strong>, beautiful baroque fa\u00e7ades intersect. But the town is especially known for its abundance of colourful ceramics that decorate both the main avenues and the corners of the alleyways.
The most remarkable sites are the staircase of the Scala di Santa Maria del Monte, the church at its summit of Santa Maria del Monte, the Regional Ceramics Museum, the Cathedral of Saint Julian, and the public garden of the Villa Comunale.<\/p>\n

Caltagirone itinerary and places to discover<\/h2>\n

Here is a visiting itinerary of Caltagirone, starting from the area south of the centre, around the main park, then reaching the historic heart, before finally exploring the western and eastern edges of the centre.<\/p>\n

In the south: Villa Comunale, ceramics museum and Via Roma<\/h3>\n

The Villa Comunale<\/strong> is the public garden, in English style, which was designed at the end of the 19th century, with monuments covered in local ceramics produced by local workshops, such as the pretty Moorish-style bandstand, the balustrade on via Roma decorated with vases, and the beautiful Teatrino del Bonaiuto<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Church of San Pietro<\/p><\/div>\n

From the latter you reach the Ceramics Museum<\/strong> , founded in 1965, which preserves objects dating back from prehistory to the present day. It holds one of the most important specialised collections in Sicily, arranged in chronological sections. The inhabitants were already producing terracotta 10 centuries before our era. The area dedicated to the Greek world also displays kylixes and hydriai from local excavations carried out in the 20th century, including a beautiful Attic krater from the 5th century BC that illustrates this activity with the scene of a potter at a wheel.<\/p>\n

On leaving the park, the baroque church of San Francesco di Paola<\/strong> (Saint Francis of Paola) is attached to an old hospital. It preserves in particular a 15th-century sacristy, predating the 1693 earthquake, with ribbed vaults characteristic of late Sicilian Gothic. The adjoining hospital once belonged to the network of charitable institutions controlled by the municipality.<\/p>\n

Set apart, the church of San Pietro di Caltagirone<\/strong> is a neo-Gothic building constructed in the 19th century whose fa\u00e7ade is covered in polychrome majolica. Inside, the vault is decorated with frescoes by Giuseppe Vaccaro, illustrating episodes from the life of Saint Peter, and the apse preserves a high altar in polychrome marble.<\/p>\n

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Church of San Francesco d’Assisi<\/p><\/div>\n

Along Via Roma<\/strong> you discover the balcony of the Casa Ventimiglia, decorated with 18th-century majolicas. These local tiles are inherited from the reconstruction period when noble families invested in ceramic decoration to assert their status.
Further on is the church of San Francesco d’Assisi<\/strong> (Saint Francis of Assisi), which was a Gothic monument built around 1230, rebuilt as a baroque church after 1693 under the direction of the architect Battaglia – also active in Catania<\/a> – with an imposing fa\u00e7ade. A Gothic chapel has survived and the dome remained unfinished.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Ponte san francesco<\/p><\/div>\n

Adjoining it, the Franciscan convent<\/strong> preserves a pretty cloister, partly rebuilt after 1693, retaining a Gothic arch. It houses the interesting diocesan museum<\/strong> (museo diocesano<\/em>), preserving pieces from the old destroyed churches, notably 16th-century wooden tabernacles<\/p>\n

You then cross the beautiful decorated bridge Ponte de San Francesco<\/strong> which dates from the mid-17th century, adorned with polychrome tiles produced during the 19th-century restorations. Its original construction was intended to connect two districts separated by a deep ravine.
It joins the church of Sant’Agata<\/strong> (Saint Agatha), seat of the confraternity of majolica makers. Built in 1576, it stands out for its baroque stone fa\u00e7ade and its rich stucco decoration. It preserves a marble holy water font by Giandomenico Gagini (1610) and a canvas of the \u201cMadonna della Lettera\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Sant’Agata, Carcere borbonico<\/p><\/div>\n

Beside it, the former Bourbon prison<\/strong> from the end of the 18th century is nowadays the seat of the Municipal Museum<\/strong>, devoted to history and archaeology, which occupies the former cells and displays in particular the municipal epigraphic collection.
Nearby, the church of San Pietro<\/strong> (Saint Peter) is a neo-Gothic construction from the second half of the 19th century, where the two beautiful towers decorated with majolicas from the Judica workshops, which frame a central part with pointed arches and whose door includes bronze panels. The interior preserves a cycle of frescoes by Vaccaro. The church was rebuilt after 1850 as part of an urban modernisation programme.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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