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00 Caltagirone
Stemma di Caltagirone

Sicily · Catania

Caltagirone

Sicily's ceramic capital at 611 meters on the Erei ridge, 142 majolica-tiled steps to Santa Maria del Monte and a Val di Noto UNESCO baroque rebuild.

Best time
Apr–Jun, Sep–Nov
By car
1 h 12 min from Catania
By train
Station in the comune
Population
35,765

Known for

  • MAJOLICA

    Sicily's first majolica center, established by Arab artisans in the tenth century; the trade survives in active workshops throughout the centro storico.

  • LA SCALA

    142 steps from 1606, majolica-tiled in 1956; lit by four thousand oil lamps for the patron San Giacomo on 24-25 July each year.

  • VAL DI NOTO

    Joined the UNESCO Late Baroque Towns of Val di Noto inscription in 2002 for its post-1693 reconstruction in Sicilian late-baroque style.

When to visit

Best · Apr–Jun, Sep–Nov

  • J12°
  • F13°
  • M14°
  • A17°
  • M23°
  • J29°
  • J32°
  • A32°
  • S27°
  • O22°
  • N17°
  • D13°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.

Why come

Caltagirone sits at 611 meters on the Monti Erei between the plains of Catania and Gela, sixty kilometers inland from the coast. The Arabs took the town in the tenth century and brought the glazing technique that turned local terracotta into majolica; Caltagirone became the first majolica center the North Africans established in Sicily, and the trade survived under Norman, Hohenstaufen and Aragonese rule. The 1693 Val di Noto earthquake destroyed the city.

The rebuild produced the late-baroque centro storico that joined the UNESCO Val di Noto inscription in 2002, alongside Noto, Modica, Ragusa, Scicli and three others. The 142-step Scala di Santa Maria del Monte, cut in 1606, was tiled in 1956 with majolica risers, each band a different pattern from Sicilian, Arab, Norman and Spanish design traditions. For three days every July, four thousand oil lamps line the steps for the patron San Giacomo. Ceramic workshops still operate in the old town, the trade unbroken since the Arabs.

The Sunday letter

Caltagirone is on our list. Its letter is still to come.

We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Caltagirone comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.

Read on

Caltagirone in our articles

How to get there

From Catania (CTA), about 1h 12m by car.

By car from the centre of Palermo 2h 49m.

There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.

Coming by train into Catania Centrale? Caltagirone is about 1h 13m away by road.

Every town within reach of Catania airport.

Caltagirone, photo 1
Caltagirone, photo 2

What to see

  • Scala di Santa Maria del Monte

    142 baroque steps cut in 1606 connecting lower and upper town, tiled in 1956 with majolica risers, each band a different pattern from the city's ceramic tradition.

  • Cattedrale di San Giuliano

    Eighteenth-century rebuild of the medieval cathedral destroyed in the 1693 earthquake; neo-baroque façade and bell tower added in the early twentieth century.

  • Museo della Ceramica

    Regional ceramics museum at the Giardino Pubblico, tracing Caltagirone production from the prehistoric era through medieval Arab glazes to twentieth-century studios.

  • Palazzo Senatorio

    Eighteenth-century town hall on Piazza dell'Università, central monument of the baroque rebuild after the 1693 quake.

  • Villa Comunale

    Nineteenth-century public garden with a teatrino and majolica-tiled bandstand, designed by Giovan Battista Filippo Basile, father of Ernesto Basile.

The slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Caltagirone fits in a slow Italy circuit.

Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.

Plan your trip

Through the year

What happens here

Feasts and festivals that come back year after year. We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the source before you plan a journey around one.

Living here

  • Population 35,765
  • Remotei
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Train station in the comune
  • Nearest airport Catania, 1 h 12 min drive
  • Regional capital Palermo, 2 h 49 min drive

Common questions

What is Caltagirone known for?
Sicily's ceramic capital at 611 meters on the Erei ridge, 142 majolica-tiled steps to Santa Maria del Monte and a Val di Noto UNESCO baroque rebuild.
Where is Caltagirone?
Caltagirone is a comune in the province of Catania, in Sicily.
What is the nearest airport to Caltagirone?
Catania (CTA), about 1h 12m by car.
Can you get to Caltagirone without a car?
Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
How long is the drive from Palermo to Caltagirone?
About 2h 49m by car.
When is the best time to visit Caltagirone?
Best in Apr–Jun, Sep–Nov. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and March the wettest, with about 9 rain days.
Is there a sagra or a festival in Caltagirone?
Yes. Festa Maria SS del Ponte a Caltagirone. August is when the first of them falls.
Which other towns are like Caltagirone?
Erice, Corleone and Cammarata.
How many people live in Caltagirone?
35,765 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 611 m
  • Population: 35,765
  • Surface area: 383.38 km²

These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

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