SCICLI, RAGUSA

Scicli's 18th-century appearance, which make it a true baroque pearl, is the product of the reconstruction that became necessary following the 1693 earthquake, which devastated much of Sicily. The town is situated in a wide valley set between rocky hills, 24 km from Ragusa; the Siculi were probably its first inhabitants.

It was conquered by the Arabs in 864 and became a royal town under the Normans. The town commemorates a terrible battle against the Saracens, who had landed on the coast, probably to regain lost positions.

A visit to the small centre can commence in Piazza Italia, on which stands the Mother Church of the Madonna delle Milizie, rebuilt in baroque style in 1751. Inside, this conserves a remarkable papier mache work portraying the Madonna riding a white horse and in the act of fighting the Saracens.

When you reach the church of San Bartolomeo, you will find yourself before one of the few constructions to have survived the earthquake; it contains a remarkable wooden crib dating from the second half of the 16th century, renovated in 1773.

See also Palazzo Beneventano dating from 18th century, noted for its richly decorated corner cupboard and figured balcony corbels, the former Carmelite Fathers' monastery complex founded in 1386 and rebuilt after the earthquake between 1775 and 1778, and the church of Santa Maria la Nova at the foot of the Rosario and Santa Cassa hills, a neo-classical revamp dated 1816 of an older 16th-century structure.