A Day in Sicily

Caltagirone Ceramics

Caltagirone, a city that is well known for it’s ceramics.  It sits on a hill and has shop after shop of ceramics. One of my collections when I travel is to bring back a locally handmade item from the area. It was easy to do this in this city. There were lots of pottery to choose from. Some were a little too ornate for me and others I would’ve LOVED to have brought home but just didn’t have the room in my luggage. 

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You don’t want to miss the Scalinata di Santa Maria del Monte (aka the Ceramic Steps of Caltagirone). This staircase, built-in 1608, consists of 142 steps decorated with hand-painted local ceramic tiles.  

We stopped off here on our way to the Valley of the Temples.

Valley of the Temples, Agrigento, Sicily

You don’t have to go to Athens to see amazing Greek ruins.

If you’re out touring Sicily, why not stop in and take a walk through the Valley of the Temples. it is the most impressive group of monuments of all of Magna (Great) Greece. I had no idea these temples even existed in Sicily.  After doing my research I decided this was definitely a place we needed on our list.

We took off on our adventure to the Agrigento province and headed to our second stop, the Valley of the Temples. We’ve traveled to Athens and I was thoroughly impressed with what we saw there. The ruins in the Valley of the Temples impressed me just as much as the ones in Athens, if not more. As we arrived in the area would could see one of the best persevered Temple ruins from the road, to our right. It makes you want to stop instantly in your tracks and take pictures. After seeing this temple, we got even more excited to see what was inside.

We found the parking area and went to purchase tickets. The process was easy. There’s a place that sold food and some light refreshments and souvenirs if you’d like to take home a few little trinkets. This is also where you want to get in your bathroom break before you hit the trail. Make sure you wear comfortable shoes because there will be a good amount of walking, if you desire to see all of the ruins. 

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We visited this area in April so there weren’t a lot of people, which was nice. I can imagine it being a lot busier in the summertime.   We started on the trail where we saw temples, remnants of temples, olive trees, and even a few goats along the way. Some of the Temples are pretty spaced apart so just take your time and enjoy the site. 

The ruins are quite impressive and definitely worth a visit.

On to our next stop….

The Turkish Steps – Scala dei Turchi

The Turkish steps is a place you must see for yourself and it’s not far from the Valley of the Temples. The dazzling white cliff formation gives you the feeling that you’re about to step onto a piece of ice. You even feel like the temperature is dropping the closer you get to the steps due to the white color of the steps in contrast to the blue water. It looks like an iceberg perched on the side of a cliff. 

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Centuries of rain and wind has carved a natural staircase into the cliff that you can climb-up, sit, and enjoy the view. You’re walking up a slope so you have to be careful walking. Wear good walking shoes because it can be a little slippery coming back down The steps are made out of white limestone called Marl. It’s truly a sight to see and almost unbelievable that nature created this piece of art. 

Legend says pirates would anchor near the cliff and use the steps to get to the top and rob the town of its treasures and then slip away in the night unseen. Don’t you just love old stories. 

This is yet another “Wonder of Sicily” that you don’t want to miss.