Caltagirone is situated inland at the junction of the SS 124 (from Siracusa) and 385 (from Catania), just to the south of the SS 417 (Gela-Catania).
Location
Caltagirone, which enjoys a picturesque location across three hills, is famous for its pottery and terracotta industry, evidence of which can be seen in the great tiled steps which connect the upper and lower parts of the town. The town stands on the site of a Stone Age settlement which existed in the third millennium before Christ. After they conquered it in the ninth century, the Arabs named the town Qalat-al-Ghiran (castle above the caves), from which its present name has developed.
After being completely destroyed in the earthquake of 1693, Caltagirone was rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries and this gave the town its Baroque character. The modern town is built across the southern hill, while the original medieval town center, rebuilt in the 18th century, lies on the northern hill.
Cultural events
Festival of the Resurrection "La Giunta" (Easter Sunday); "La scala illuminata" on the great steps (24th-25th July); Giacomo procession "La Festa di San Giacomo Apostolo" (23rd-25th July).
In the center of Caltagirone, on the Piazza Umberto I, stand the cathedral, dating from the 18th century (its interior restored in the 19th), and the Palazzo Corte Capitaniale, built about 1600 by Antonuzzo and Gian Domenico Gagini. It is a single-storyed extravagant building with Doric pilasters at the corners and windows and doorways, which alternate to charming effect.
On the Piazza del Municipio in Caltagirone, beside the Baroque town hall (by G. B. Nicastro), there is the Galleria L Sturzo, the former senate's palace of 1483, which later was converted for use as a theater and finally as premises for dealing in ceramics.
Worthy of note is the Museo Civico in Caltagirone, which can be reached by taking the Via Roma when leaving the Piazza del Municipio (archeological finds from the area, exhibits of local history).
A bridge faced with ceramics leads to the Church of San Francesco di Paola at the entrance to the town park (Villa), in which there is also a museum of ceramics. It shows the history of ceramics in Sicily from its prehistoric beginnings to the 20th century.
More Baroque churches can be found in the Via L Sturzio in Caltagirone, which also leads to the Upper Town: the Chiesa del Rosario and the Chiesa del Salvatore. The street ends at the Chiesa di San Giorgio (medieval bell-tower, inside a 15th century painting of the Flemish school), close to which is the National Institute of Ceramic Art (Istituto Statale d'Arte per la Ceramica); exhibitions are held there.
On the Via Vittorio Emanuele in Caltagirone stands the Chiesa San Giacomo, originally a Norman cathedral, which was erected in 1694 as a three-aisled building. Inside there is a statue of Saint Giacomo, the patron saint of the town (1518), to whom the reliquary altar is also dedicated.
Address: San Giacomo, Via Vittorio Emanuele, I-95041 Caltagirone, Italy
Providing a viewing point at the top of the steps is the Church of Santa Maria del Monte, erected in the 18th century on the site of the previous building, which dated from the 12th century but was destroyed in 1693. Inside the church can be seen the much venerated 13th century picture of the Madonna di Conadomini.
Leading up to the Upper Town from the Piazza del Municipio is the monumental stairway designed in 1608 by the architect Giuseppe Giacalone. Its 142 steps are decorated with distinctive modern ceramic tiles.
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