What is Caltagirone known for?

Sicily's first majolica center, established by Arab artisans in the tenth century; the trade survives in active workshops throughout the centro storico. 142 steps from 1606, majolica-tiled in 1956; lit by four thousand oil lamps for the patron San Giacomo on 24-25 July each year. Joined the UNESCO Late Baroque Towns of Val di Noto inscription in 2002 for its post-1693 reconstruction in Sicilian late-baroque style.

Where is Caltagirone?

Caltagirone is a comune in the province of Catania, Sicily region of Italy, about 74 kilometers from Catania.

Sicily · Catania

Caltagirone

Sicily's ceramic capital at 611 meters on the Erei ridge, 142 majolica-tiled steps to Santa Maria del Monte and a Val di Noto UNESCO baroque rebuild.

611m

Elevation

74 km / 46 mi

Nearest hub (Catania)

35,765

Population

Apr–Jun, Sep–Nov

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Caltagirone sits at 611 meters on the Monti Erei between the plains of Catania and Gela, sixty kilometers inland from the coast. The Arabs took the town in the tenth century and brought the glazing technique that turned local terracotta into majolica; Caltagirone became the first majolica center the North Africans established in Sicily, and the trade survived under Norman, Hohenstaufen and Aragonese rule. The 1693 Val di Noto earthquake destroyed the city. The rebuild produced the late-baroque centro storico that joined the UNESCO Val di Noto inscription in 2002, alongside Noto, Modica, Ragusa, Scicli and three others. The 142-step Scala di Santa Maria del Monte, cut in 1606, was tiled in 1956 with majolica risers, each band a different pattern from Sicilian, Arab, Norman and Spanish design traditions. For three days every July, four thousand oil lamps line the steps for the patron San Giacomo. Ceramic workshops still operate in the old town, the trade unbroken since the Arabs.

The slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Caltagirone fits in a slow Italy circuit.

Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.

Plan your trip

Gallery

9 photos · scroll →

Known for

Scala di Santa Maria del Monte
142 baroque steps cut in 1606 connecting lower and upper town, tiled in 1956 with majolica risers, each band a different pattern from the city's ceramic tradition.
Cattedrale di San Giuliano
Eighteenth-century rebuild of the medieval cathedral destroyed in the 1693 earthquake; neo-baroque façade and bell tower added in the early twentieth century.
Museo della Ceramica
Regional ceramics museum at the Giardino Pubblico, tracing Caltagirone production from the prehistoric era through medieval Arab glazes to twentieth-century studios.
Palazzo Senatorio
Eighteenth-century town hall on Piazza dell'Università, central monument of the baroque rebuild after the 1693 quake.
Villa Comunale
Nineteenth-century public garden with a teatrino and majolica-tiled bandstand, designed by Giovan Battista Filippo Basile, father of Ernesto Basile.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Jun, Sep–Nov

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June brings the green Erei hills and mild dry weather, the right window for the ceramic workshops and the long climb up the Scala. July and August are hot inland, often past thirty-five, but the four-thousand-lamp Luminaria on 24-25 July is the spectacle the city was built around. September through November is dry and golden, the second best window, with the Scala Infiorata flower display in late spring and the patron's feast already past. December through March is quiet and cool at 611 meters; some workshops close after Christmas and the centro storico empties in the evenings.