Caltagirone and the Staircase of Santa Maria del Monte
142 steps covered in hand-painted majolica
Caltagirone, on the hills between Catania and Gela, is the Sicilian capital of ceramics: the craft was brought by the Arabs and has flourished ever since. Rebuilt in baroque style after the 1693 earthquake, the town is part of the UNESCO site of the Val di Noto, and majolica decorations are everywhere, on bridges, balconies, benches and façades.
Its symbol is the Scala di Santa Maria del Monte, a monumental staircase of 142 steps, built in the seventeenth century to link the lower town to the old upper town. Since 1954 each riser has been decorated with hand-painted majolica tiles, each step with different motifs illustrating the history of Sicilian ceramics, from Arab to modern. On 24 and 25 July, and for other feasts, the staircase is lit by thousands of oil lamps forming a huge design.
Tip: visit the Regional Museum of Ceramics in the Villa Comunale park, and the many workshops where the potters work in front of visitors.
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