|
WELCOME TO SCICLI
"Seen
therefore, from far away, and from so high, Scicli was what is said
La Sicilia".
It was one of the most famous Italian intellectuals of the last century,
the writer and director Pier Paolo Pasolini, to make such an important
statement, at the end of 1950’s.
GEOGRAPHY…
Scicli is situated in the south eastern part of Sicily, in Province of
Ragusa, close to the Mediterranean sea. It’s 28 km far from the principal
town of Sicily and about 5 km far from the shoreline. Its geographic
coordinates are: 36º 44' N and 14º 42' E. The altitude is 105 meters on
sea level and the surface is 137.54 squarekm. Scicli borders
Ragusa and Modica and spreads for approximately 20 km on the coast, from
the mouth of the Irminio river until the district of Pisciotto.
Its territory consists of Donnalucata (with Playa Grande), Cava d’Aliga (with Bruca
and Arizza) and Sampieri (with Pisciotto), all on the shoreline, in
front of the island of Malta. Its inhabitants (sciclitani) are
approximately 26,000.
HISTORY…
The origin of the city of Scicli can be traced back to the III Siculo
period (from 1500 b.C. to 800 b.C.). The ancient city, in fact arose on
the hill of Saint Matteo where there are still coves and sepulchres,
near the district called Chiafura and the ruins of the “Castello
dei Tre Cantoni”. The economy of Scicli is based on the growing of
vegetables and fruits in greenhouse (one of the most famous tomatoes is
called "ciliegino", known also as "pachino").
With the inclusion of Scicli in the UNESCO patrimony of World Heritage
List, the local government started an important tourist policy, that is
founded on the presence of one of the most important baroque testimonies
of the "Val di Noto" and on the existence of twenty kilometres of
uncontaminated coasts. In summer time the presence of chalets, nocturnal
sites and discotheques makes the coast of Scicli one of the most
attractive place for young people and teenagers.
TRADITION AND
FESTIVITIES…
The city is famous for a lot of festivities and traditional tales. One
of this is based upon the presence of the statue of the "Madonna delle
Milizie", the only fighter Madonna of the Christianity. The statue is
situated inside the church Matrice. According to the tradition, she came
down from the sky over a white horse in order to save the Christians
from the incursions of the “Saracens”.
On the last Sunday of May a theatre play remembers the battle between
Normans and Arabs. Around the middle of March the "Cavalcata di San
Giuseppe" takes place. It is a procession of horses covered with flowers
that evokes the escape of Jesus, Giuseppe and Maria in Egypt.
Easter Sunday is famous for the celebration of "Cristo Risorto" (the
“Gioia”): the statue of Christ is carried by many people on their
shoulders across the main streets of the town.
Besides, Scicli hosts an unique painting in the world-wide catholic
iconography: the "Cristo in gonnella". Inside the church of the Carmine,
the painting represents Jesus in cross wearing a long and white
sacerdotal skirt, from the flanks down. A similar painting only exists
in Burgos, in Spain.
CINEMA…
It is worth to remind that Scicli, in the last few years, has
become famous to be the location of various cinematographic sets.
Giuseppe Tornatore (already Oscar prize with "Nuovo Cinema Paradiso")
for the film "L'uomo delle stelle", and location of the town Vigata for
"Il commissario Montalbano", a fiction inspired to the stories of Andrea
Camilleri, now exported all over the world from the Italian Television.
About Scicli, the writer Elio Vittorini wrote: "It is perhaps the most
beautiful city of the world".
Giuseppe
Savà
|
