Dioscuri Bay Palace

Aragona is a charming town, rich in history, nature, art and culture. The necropolis called Caldare and san Vincenzo date back from 3500 to 1300 B.C. and testify Aragona’s very old origins. Palazzo Naselli dates back to the eighteenth century and inside it is enriched with valuable frescos. Maccalube natural reserve is an important naturalistic treasure characterized by suggestive hydro-clayey springs. The constant spill of clay from the subsoil creates fascinating eruptive plays which gave rise to many popular beliefs. The sulphur mines of Aragona are historically very interesting. At the beginning of the twentieth century they had a great development and were admirably described in many novels by Luigi Pirandello

Naro, the town of baroque, has a rich and valuable artistic and monumental wealth: churches, convents, old buildings, a castle which testify its glorious history and civilization and which preserve excellent and unique, but hardly known, works of art. The naturalistic beauties of Naro are important too: the ‘valle del paradiso’, one of the most impressive natural balconies of Sicily, san Giovanni lake and the pine wood, with their luxuriant fauna and flora, are an ideal frame to live in touch with nature.

The fertility of land and the special climate make this area of the province ideal for growing of fruits, grain and especially of grape, the leading element of its economy. Some wines have received international awards and many cellars throw their doors open to visitors for tasting the best local wines and food. Racalmuto is well known because the famous writer Leonardo Sciascia was born here. He spent most of his life in his native town and described admirably the various human environment of his “Regalpetra”.

The fertility of land and the special climate make this area of the province ideal for growing of fruits, grain and especially of grape, the leading element of its economy. Some wines have received international awards and many cellars throw their doors open to visitors for tasting the best local wines and food. Racalmuto is well known because the famous writer Leonardo Sciascia was born here. He spent most of his life in his native town and described admirably the various human environment of his “Regalpetra”.

The fertility of land and the special climate make this area of the province ideal for growing of fruits, grain and especially of grape, the leading element of its economy. Some wines have received international awards and many cellars throw their doors open to visitors for tasting the best local wines and food. Racalmuto is well known because the famous writer Leonardo Sciascia was born here. He spent most of his life in his native town and described admirably the various human environment of his “Regalpetra”.

Sant’Angelo Muxaro is a characteristic little village rooted on a solitary hill. It was identified as the capital of the ancient kingdom of Sicani. According to the mythology Daedalus planned the town in order to thank Kokalos, king of Sicani, for the ospitality he received when he escaped from Minos. Archaeology is here very rich: graves, valuable jewels, ceramic vases, golden cups, funeral outfits of inestimable value, which testify the prestige reached by the old civilization of Sicani. With its nature trails, mule tracks and caves of great speleological interest, Sant’Angelo Muxaro is moreover a charming destination where you can enjoy a still uncontaminated nature. At about 4 km, sailing up Platani river, there is San Biagio Platani, a charming oasis of nature and traditions: an uncontaminated valley rich in flora and fauna, in farm houses where you can taste local products and where the old feast of Arches celebrates each Easter: the town is decorated with arches made of bread and other cereals depicting Jesus’ Calvary and Resurrection.

Caltabellotta is rooted on the slopes of a mountain, in front of a wonderful landscape. It is called the “crib town” because of its original Gothic type planning: little houses grouped together, wonderful portals, narrow alleys alternating with flights of steps, little stony roads and arches leading into charming squares. At Christmas the atmosphere is suggestive and joyful: the living Nativity scene is unique with its songs and music to celebrate past and present traditions.

Burgio is an old medioeval village rich in history and culture: several hundred carved stony portals of the nineteenth-century, Norman churches decorated with statues of fine workmanship, a medioeval castle and convents of the sixteenth-century. Here you find Virgadamo foundry, born in the sixteenth century and unique in Sicily, which still melts the bronze according to the old tradition and exports bells all over the world. Pottery is important too: for ages a lot of workshops in town have been charming us with their lively colours and unique patterns. All the above together with the luxuriant natural reserve of Sicani wood makes burgio a first-class tourist attraction near Agrigento.

In the heart of Mount Sicani, in the territories between the towns of Cammarata and SSQ, there is the natural reserve of Mount Cammarata: luxuriant woods, very rare plants and birds, nature trails, equipped areas, cycle-tracks to enjoy a splendid nature. The area has a stud farm for horses of the breeds Franches.. and santa.. used by the personnel of Corps of Foresters for rescue service. In an oak wood, 986 metres above sea-level, there is the hermitage where St. Rosalia, daughter of the estate owner, lived from 1150 to 1162 before moving to Mount Pellegrino in Palermo. The production of cheese, oil, meat, honey, fruits, the handiwork of wood, iron, glass and the unique manufacture of fireworks are very important too.

In the heart of Mount Sicani, in the territories between the towns of Cammarata and SSQ, there is the natural reserve of Mount Cammarata: luxuriant woods, very rare plants and birds, nature trails, equipped areas, cycle-tracks to enjoy a splendid nature. The area has a stud farm for horses of the breeds Franches.. and santa.. used by the personnel of Corps of Foresters for rescue service. In an oak wood, 986 metres above sea-level, there is the hermitage where St. Rosalia, daughter of the estate owner, lived from 1150 to 1162 before moving to Mount Pellegrino in Palermo. The production of cheese, oil, meat, honey, fruits, the handiwork of wood, iron, glass and the unique manufacture of fireworks are very important too.

The small town of Realmonte is unique and world famous for its Scala dei Turchi: a white cliff where wind and rain shaped natural steps. The play of colours is wonderful: the sunlight makes brighter the white rocks between the sky and the blue sea, a real heaven. Other important sites in Realmonte are the Villa Romana (I A.D.) with its wonderful mosaics, columns and private thermae, and the church inside the salt mine with its incredible sculptures made of this precious mineral and with its acoustics which is better than an opera house.

Punta Bianca is a beautiful and wild cliff sheer above the sea. In the course of centuries wind and rain have formed strange and unusual shapes on the rock walls, which change their colour at sunset leaving the observers speechless. Among the rocks there are little bays with golden sand. The sea water here is very crystalline.

Torre Salsa natural reserve is an oasis of uncontaminated nature where you can admire gypsum-cliffs alternating with calcareous marls, a lush vegetation, a very rare fauna and a clear and crystalline sea. The tower, an old sighting point, dominates the top of a small clayey promontory. All around there are agricultural areas, nature trails and picnic facilities. Torre Salsa is one of the remaining jewels of the coast with its wild orchids, rare junipers, turtles and tortoises. You will never forget your stay in this wonderful natural area.

Caltagirone is well known in the world for its pottery. The streets of the town are animated by a lot of little shops displaying the typical handicracfts. The tradition of pottery in Caltagirone is very old and dates back to the Muslin and Norman age. The staircase, which connects the upper with the lower part of the town, is very suggestive: 142 steps made of majolica with a variety of colours and decorations.

Piazza Armerina is a splendid city of art with its monuments, churches, old baroque palaces. When you walk through the streets of the historic city centre, you have the pleasant feeling to live again the old magnificence of the town and to be immersed completely in an atmosphere teeming with culture. The true flower of Piazza Armerina is the Roman Villa del Casale, residence of an aristocrat of the Roman Empire, appointed by Unesco as world heritage site. Its splendid mosaics stretch for more than 3500 sq. m. and portray epic, mythological and everyday life scenes and accurate depictions of animals and plants, offering an inimitable fresco of Roman civilization.

Sambuca di Sicilia rises in a pleasant valley around Lake Arancio, a very fertile area, rich in wood. the archeological site of Mount Adranone testifies Sambuca’s Greek origin.