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I PARCHI LETTERARI "IN THE DIMENSION OF THE JOURNEY"
- THE PLACES: SCIACCA
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Our itinerary begins in SCIACCA:
“The city is built well and rises up on a
hill near the sea” (Stolberg);
Surrounded by 16th Century bastion walls, it is
positioned on a terrace of the southern coast of
Sicily, between Agrigento and Mazara del Vallo. |
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It is a favourite destination for swimmers, and it is
also the most ancient thermal spa found on the island.
In Roman times it was known as Thermae Selinuntinae,
since it was the place that had originally been an
outpost of Selinunte towards Agrigento.
Swinburne provides a detailed account of
its history and then continues to describe the city
during his time, “protected by ancient walls and by
the Castello dei Luna, located on a very steep cliff,
sheer above the sea,” featuring “very solid
buildings” and he describes its numerous and
remarkable monuments.
 It
is famous for its historic thermal spas and for the
artisan tradition of ceramics.
“We climb the mountain where there are spas that were
designed and created by Dedalus, that universal genius,
inventor of all arts, sought out by all; who, after
having covered himself with as many crimes as victories,
found refuge with King Coclus, the King of the Sicanians
and almost all of Sicily, in order to escape the
vendetta of Minos.
Whatever purpose they served, these spas are found three
miles from Sciacca, at the top of the mountain that
hovers over the city. Today they are called Bagni di San
Calogero.
After having examined all that was possible in these
caves, without neglecting the one where the old hermit
San Calogero, one of the most loved protectors of Sicily,
spent many years and later died, it is said, as a saint,
we began to descend towards the plain; but we were held
back for a few minutes by the superb view from the top
of this mountain which is isolated on all sides. The
expanse of the sea that can be glimpsed from there is
immense and our guides told us that when the weather is
clear, not only is it possible to see Cap Bon in Africa
but even the Gulf of Tunisia where ancient Carthage was
once located.
...
Among the many workshops of those ancient clay vases,
which we have often referred to in this work, and which
were used diffusely among the ancients, the one in
Sciacca seems to be one of the most interesting, and a
large portion of the vases that are contained in the
main collections in Sicily, both in Catania and in
Palermo, have been attributed to it...”
Abbot of Saint Non, A Picturesque Journey in
Sicily
As at the time of Stolberg, who quotes: “(in
Sciacca) there are many competent vase makers, able to
create beautiful containers of various forms”, the
city offers a very rich artisan tradition of pottery,
with workshops located in the most ancient section of
the city.
The Storyteller abandons the coast for the first time,
the road turns inland, among fields mainly cultivated
with vineyards until it reaches one of the most
important places of... The Leopard.
Go to Santa
Margherita di Belice >>
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Regione Calabria
