Caltagirone ... City of Ceramics

December 19, 2014

Steps of Santa Maria del Monte

Caltagirone is known as the City of Ceramics and everything there reminds you of that.

The city’s buildings, churches, streets and balconies are all decorated with Majolica ceramics ranging from magnificent tiles to beautiful ornaments and plant pots, all of which are hand painted there.

The drive from Taormina takes approximately one hour and twenty minutes and you will get to see a different view of Mount Etna than that seen from Taormina.

The name Caltagirone comes from the Arabic word Qal’at Ghiran, which means Castle of Pottery Jars and is one of the most ancient Sicilian towns which dates back to prehistoric times.

The city was almost destroyed by an earthquake in the region in 1693 and many of the buildings have been rebuilt in a typical Sicilian baroque style.

The highlight of the city is the Steps of St. Maria del Monte, which has 142 stairs decorated with beautiful flourished Majolica tiles, each step displays a different design. All the way up the stairs and the alleyways leading off to each side you will find the many workshops and galleries of the artists.

Once you have climbed to the top of the steps, whilst slightly breathless, you will be rewarded by a spectacular view across Caltagirone and the surrounding countryside. There you will find a couple more steps up to the church of St. Maria del Monte in the small piazza in front you will see the mosaic artwork in Majolica depicting The Taking of the Bell of Altavilla to Caltagirone, a very beautiful piece of art.

The Taking of the Bell of Altavilla to Caltagirone

Our dog Daisy loves a climb up the stairs and she looks forward to a sip of water from the natural water tap in front of the church.

There are many other churches to explore, and also the civic museum which is housed in an 18^th century Bourbon prison.

Well worth a visit across a decorated bridge called Ponte San Francesco is the Public Gardens which were created by an English aristocrat in an art nouveau style. Here you will find the Museo della Ceramica (Museum of Ceramics) with the history of ceramics dating back to ancient times.

Dolce and Gabbana's Spring Inspiration

The ceramics of Caltagirone are very beautifully hand painted in mostly traditional colours of yellows and blues, the designers Dolce and Gabbana used the Majolica designs as inspiration for their past seasons collections.

The best time of year to visit is at Easter for the Good Friday procession, May for the flower festival where the steps are adorned with flowers and on 25^th July when the city celebrates its patron saint, Saint James and the steps are lit by candles to form an artistic drawing.

Caltagirone is a small city and is easy to visit in half a day so why not incorporate a visit to nearby Piazza Armerina where you can visit the Villa del Casale which is a stunning Roman Villa with 3500 square meters of Roman mosaics.

If you decide to stay in Caltagirone there is a cute Bed and Breakfast called Tre Metri Sopra il Cielo which translates to Three Metres above The Sky www.bbtremetrisoprailcielo.it

Whilst staying in Taormina and surrounding areas you will find many local shops selling the ceramics of Caltagirone and of course Taormina is decorated with the finest Caltagirone ceramics.

I am slowly adding to my collection in my Sicilian home.

a birthday present from my adopted Sicilian big brother

New Blog post coming soon ..... Villa del Casale, Sicily's Roman Villa in Piazza Armerina.

Why not visit my White Almond Pinterest page and browse our board Dolce and Gabbana's Sicilian
Inspiration.

www.pinterest.com/sarahjkearney

This blog post is dedicated by our wonderful friend Teresa who we spent a beautiful sunny day with in Caltagirone this October.

PHOTO GALLERY