The Montalbano Filming Locations Tour

Ragusa Ilba
Inspector Montalbano is a fictional character created by the author Andrea Camillieri in a series of novels. The character was then adapted for TV and the main character Salvo Montalbano works in the fictional town of Vigata in the equally fictional district of Montelusa.

Last month we had a friend staying with us who is a massive Inspector Montalbano fan, it was her first time visiting Sicily and she was eager to see the filming locations of the popular detective series shown on UK’s BBC4.

My husband (also a big Montalbano fan) and I had been down to the beautiful South East corner of Sicily where the series is filmed two years ago with our dog Daisy, I thought it would be wonderful to book a guided excursion for myself and my friend. I found a Noemi Viaggi Tour called “The Montalbano Filming Locations Tour”.

The itinerary follows in the footsteps of Montalbano which would visit some of the most important historical sites in South East Sicily.

Our pick up point was in Giardini Naxos at 7:45am, we waited eagerly for our coach to collect us.

Our guide for the day was Christy Bonaventura and our mode of transport a luxury air conditioned coach. Perfect for a hot Sicilian July day.

Ragusa Ilba

Once all passengers had been collected we headed via the autostrada for our first filming location, Ragusa Ilba. It takes just over two hours to reach Ragusa from Taormina passing through wonderful countryside with Mount Etna on your right hand side.

Christy introduced himself to everyone and explained what we had in store for the day ahead. As we were passing Mount Etna he explained everything we needed to know about the volcano and geology surrounding it. It was absolutely fascinating.

The whole journey to Ragusa he continued to point out things of interest and explained the history of the island and I could see all guests were captivated by his extensive knowledge. Over the years I have read several books about Sicily and studied the history of the island but I was learning things that I never knew as well.

Circolo di Conversazione Ragusa Ilba
Eventually we reached Ragusa Ilba, the lower and oldest part of Ragusa. Our first stop was at the Giardino Ibleo, a public garden which is recognisable from the series with its distinctive avenue of palm trees, the next stop was in the town’s main square, Duomo di San Giorgio which doubles as Vigata’s fictional square. Here is the Circolo di Conversazione, founded as a social club for the Ragusan gentry, this is where Montalbano breaks in on coroner Dottore Pasquano’s card game in the episode L’odore della Notte - The Scent of the Night. The Duomo of San Giorgio is of impressive baroque architecture and has a magnificent staircase and has been featured in several episodes. Christy gave us enough time to visit the Duomo and stroll through the characterful streets. You expect around every corner for Salvo Montalbano or one of his deputies to come dashing around the corner in a squad car.

Next we headed for Punta Secca, a small fishing village and the fictional home of Montalbano, named Marinella in the series. The coach was parked and we all headed for Montalbano’s house. In real life the house is now a bed and breakfast with a very long waiting list, especially one particular room. Apparently there are people that love to sleep in Salvo Montalbano’s bed.

When I visited two years ago it was out of season in October so we could sneak up onto Montalbano’s terrace so famous in the series, we have a wonderful photo’s of Daisy poking her nose through his ornamental balcony. Unfortunately on this trip in high season there were guests in residence.

Casa di Montalbano, Punta Secca

After photograph opportunities it was time for lunch, Christy took us to a local bar where we could eat Arancini, a delicious Sicilian fast food treat. They are balls of rice that are stuffed with a meaty tomato ragu sauce, rolled in breadcrumbs and then deep fried. Their golden shapes resemble oranges (aranci), hence their name. They are a particular favourite of Salvo and featured in the episode “Gli Arancini di Montabano - Montalbano’s Croquettes”.  The owner of the bar has acted in a couple of the episodes of Montalbano as have many other locals. Here they also sell amazing local wine €1:70 for 2 litres of either red or white. So I purchased 2 litres of white for my husband, well he was missing out on the trip looking after Daisy.

Back on the coach we headed for the town of Scicli, on the way we passed by Donnalucata. Its marina was used as the marina of Vigata in La Forma dell’Acqua – The Shape of Water, La Voce del Violino – Voice of the Violin and Gatto e Cardellino – The Cat and The Goldfinch.

Scicli
Scicli is a UNESCO World Heritage site, it is full of wonderful baroque architecture and is framed by rocky cliffs. The Montalbano TV series is mostly filmed in Scicli which doubles as the fictional Vigata. We saw the town hall where Montalbano’s office is located and just a few metres away Palazzo Iacono where you will recognise the police headquarters. For a small fee you can go inside and see the office of the Chief of Police Bonetti-Alderighi (Montalbanos’s boss) a scene of many reprimands, in reality it is the office of the Mayor of Scicli.

Scicli is also famous for another celebrity … Italy’s most famous dog Italo, but more about him another time.

Then it was homeward bound back to Giardini Naxos and Taormina. The coach took a road high above Scicli and we had a fabulous view across this wonderful baroque town.

But Christy had one more treat in store and as we travelled across the impressive Ponte Guerreri viaduct, Italy’s third highest bridge we saw the town of Modica in the distance below us. Both Modica (by aerial view) and the viaduct feature in the opening credits of the series. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day.

We had a wonderful time thanks to Christy who was the perfect guide, his passion for Sicily and its history is obvious and he took time to answer everyone’s individual questions.

I would definitely recommend this excursion for any Inspector Montalbano fans.

The Montalbano Filming Location Tour currently runs every Thursday with pickup points in Taormina and Giardini Naxos.

If you loved reading this then you will enjoy my previous blog post;
"Inspector Montalbano ... Sicily's TV detective"

Photo Gallery

Map of Filming Locations
Giardino Ibleo - Public Gardens

Ragusa Ilba

Ragusa Ilba

Duomo San Giorgio, Ragusa Ilba

Ragusa Ilba

Casa di Montalbano, Punta Secca

Montalbano's beach where he takes a swim every morning

The Lighthouse, Punta Secca

Arancini aka Montalbano's Croquettes

Montalbano's Office, Scicli

The "Vigata" Police Headquarters, Scicli

Scicli

Scicli

The "Vigata" Police Headquarters, Scicli

Office of the Chief of Police Bonetti-Alderighi (Montalbano's boss)

a happy guest following in the footsteps "reprimanding Montalbano"

The "Vigata" Police Headquarters

Police Headquarters

Scicli

With our Guide for the Day ... Christy


and finally I could not resist sneaking one of my photo of Daisy in Sicily on the terrace of Casa di Montalbano in 2013, she could be the perfect police dog for Montalbano.

Daisy, Casa di Montalbano October 2013

If you enjoyed this Blog post then you might enjoy my post about Italo, Sicilys Famous Dog
https://whitealmond-privatesicily.blogspot.com/2015/09/italo-barocco-story-of-sicilys-famous.html

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