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

Thank you for following me at 
White Almond Sicily

as seen in

The Essential Guide to Visiting Sicily
by Essentially Italy 

Sicily Weddings & Honeymoons 
by Wedaways

and the romance novels set in Sicily

My Lemon Grove Summer 
by Jo Thomas

The Secret Sister 
by Jan Baynham 
 
For NEW Blog updates
and all things Sicilian 
follow me @


You can also follow me on

 Pinterest and Linkedin

I am also a contributor to www.timesofsicily.com

for Travel Tips, Trip Advice and Recommendations 

Popular posts from this blog

25 Sicilian Myths and Legends

Image
Sicily is a place full of myths and legends and there are many stories associated with the island. From the stories of nymphs and gods from Greek and Roman mythology to tragic love stories from an exotic era when the island was under Arabic, Norman and Spanish rule. Some stories have happy endings and some not so happy endings.  What is a legend? Legends are stories which are thought to be based on true events but have developed fictional elements that have deep significance to the culture from which they originate. For example historians claim that King Arthur really existed but his existence is shrouded in different legends, such as is his final resting place on Mount Etna?  What is a myth? Myths are stories derived from cultural traditions or legends most of which have a deep symbolic meaning and usually involve a lesson that will be helpful to the listener or reader. Mythical characters are often non-human in some form or related to a god or supernatural being, often set i...
Read more

7 Sicilian Fish Dishes for Christmas Eve

Image
The Feast of the Seven Fishes is a traditional Italian Christmas Eve dinner thought to have originated in Sicily and it is a wonderful traditional feast to share with friends and loved ones. Christmas Eve is a vigil or fasting day and the abundance of seafood reflects the tradition of abstinence from red meat until the actual feast of Christmas Day itself. It is a meal that typically consists of seven different seafood dishes. In Sicily and Southern Italy it is known as La Vigilia (The Vigil) which commemorates the wait, the Vigilia di Natale , the midnight birth of the baby Jesus. The long tradition of eating seafood on Christmas Eve dates from the Roman Catholic tradition of abstaining from eating meat during certain times of the year. As no meat or animal fat can be used on these days, observant Catholics would instead eat fish, typically fried in oil. In Sicily, Christmas Eve dinner is much more important than Christmas Day festivities. The most famous dish for Sicilian...
Read more

'Salsiccia' ... the Great Sicilian Sausage

Image
As you travel around Sicily whether it is via the stunning coastline or its interior mountain regions you will notice top quality fresh ingredients and dishes made from delicious recipes. I love food, especially Mediterranean food, which makes Sicily the perfect place for me to live, Sicily is a foodie’s paradise. One of my favourite things to eat and something I am addicted to is salsiccia , Sicilian sausage.  If I had my way I would eat it every day and would probably end up looking like one. When my “adopted” Sicilian big brother came to stay with us in London I worried about what I was going to cook a Sicilian every day, especially one that is a fantastic cook. One evening I decided on an English style sausage casserole. After serving the sausages on his plate he started to scrape the entire dish back into my casserole pot.  “These are not sausages they are disgusting”.  I agree with him in some way, but you cannot compare English sausages with ...
Read more