Page 427 - The Rough Guide of Sicily

the tiled decoration of churches and public buildings. The Baroque rebuilding saw a

further burst of creative construction, while later, during the nineteenth century, came
the principal period of ceramic figurative work. Caltagirone’s traditional industry is
still flourishing, with scores of ceramicists displaying work at galleries across the
town, while public buildings, churches, house balconies and gardens all feature
ceramics in every nook and cranny – not to mention the famous tiled steps of La Scala,

Caltagirone’s pride and joy. The old centre is small and easy to see in half a day, but
there’s an upbeat air here (and plenty of shopping opportunities) that makes a night an
enjoyable prospect.

A GEOMETRIC DIVERSION

Just fifteen minutes east of Caltagirone by train, twenty by car (via the Ragusa road),
Grammichele ranks among the strangest and most ambitious of the new towns built
after the 1693 earthquake that flattened much of this land. At its heart is a hexagonal
design centred on an imposing central piazza with six radial streets, each bisected by

secondary piazzas. The shape is no longer entirely perfect, due to a surfeit of new
building around the edges of town, but it makes for an intriguing couple of hours’
stroll, with all the streets in each segment corresponding exactly to their neighbours
in dimension and appearance. It’s disconcertingly easy to lose your bearings and,
despite the grand design, Grammichele remains a predominantly rural-looking, old-
fashioned town. Piazza Carafa, the main square, has a handful of circoli, or clubs,

where most of the town’s over-60s gather, while a café has ringside seats for all the
comings and goings.

La Scala

Emblem of Caltagirone is undoubtedly the 142 steps of La Scala, which cuts right up
one of the town’s three hills to the sorely neglected church of Santa Maria del Monte