Caltagirone
—  Comune  —
Comune di Caltagirone
The decorated staircase of Caltagirone.
Caltagirone Location of Caltagirone in Italy
Coordinates: 37°14′N 14°31′E / 37.233°N 14.517°E / 37.233; 14.517Coordinates: 37°14′N 14°31′E / 37.233°N 14.517°E / 37.233; 14.517
Country	Italy
Region	Sicily
Province	Catania (CT)
Frazioni	Albanazzo, Colleggiata (Collegiata), Favarella, Granieri, Mulino Buongiovanni, Piano Carbone, Piano San Paolo, Rangasia, San Basilio - Casa Prete, San Mauro, Santo Pietro, Serra Fornazzo, Signore del Soccorso, Villa Gravina, Villa Grazia
Government
• Mayor	Nicola Bonanno
Area
• Total	382 km2 (147 sq mi)
Elevation	608 m (1,995 ft)
Population (31 March 2008)[1]
• Total	39,478
• Density	100/km2 (270/sq mi)
Demonym	Calatini or Caltagironesi
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	95041, 95040
Dialing code	0933
Patron saint	St. James
Saint day	July 25
Website	Official website

Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto (South-Eastern Sicily) *
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Country	Italy
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, ii, iv, v
Reference	398
Region **	Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription	2002 (20th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List ** Region as classified by UNESCO

Caltagirone (Sicilian: Caltaggiruni) is a town and comune in the province of Catania, on the island (and region) of Sicily, about 70 km southwest of Catania. It is bounded by the comuni of Acate, Gela, Grammichele, Licodia Eubea, Mazzarino, Mazzarrone, Mineo, Mirabella Imbaccari, Niscemi, Piazza Armerina, San Michele di Ganzaria.

The city has been long famous for the production of pottery, particularly maiolica and terra-cotta wares. Nowadays the production is more and more oriented to artistic production of ceramics and terra-cotta sculptures. Other activities are mainly related to agriculture (production of grapes, olives, peaches).

History[link]

Modern ceramic vase of Caltagirone.

The Taking of the Bell of Altavilla to Caltagirone, polychrome maiolica mosaic
in the square of Santa Maria del Monte, atop the decorated staircase.

The city's name derives from the Arabic "qal'at-al-ghiran" ("Hill of Vases"). It was inhabited since pre-historical times, as attested by the presence of two necropoleis dating from the second millennium BCE and by numerous other archaeological findings. It was later inhabited by the Sicels pre-Roman population.

The Arabs built here a castle, which in 1030 was attacked by Ligurian troops under the Byzantine general George Maniakes, and which have left traces of Ligurian language in the current dialect. The city flourished under the Norman and Hohenstaufen domination, becoming a renowned center for production of ceramics.

The city was almost completely destroyed by the earthquake of 1693. Many public and private buildings have then been reconstructed in earthquake Baroque style. Primarily for this reason, the city has been inserted, together with the surrounding territory in an area protected by the UNESCO World Heritage program.

Main sights[link]

This section requires expansion.

A collection of ancient and modern pottery and terra-cotta, dating back to the Magna Grecia period, is available in the local Museum of Pottery, created in 1965.

The main landmark of the city is the 142-step monumental Staircase of Santa Maria del Monte, built from 1608 in the old part of the town. The peculiarity is that each step is decorated with different hand-decorated ceramics, using styles and figures derived from the millennial tradition of pottery making. Once a year, on and around the day of the city's patron saint, (St. James, 25 July), the staircase is illuminated with candles of different colours arranged in order to reconstruct an artistic drawing of several tens of meters.

Religious buildings include:

• The Cathedral of St. Julian, of Norman origin, with a twentieth-century art nouveau façade by Saverio Gulli.
• The Baroque church of San Francesco di Paola. The sacristy is in Gothic style, dating from before the 1693 earthquake.
• San Francesco d'Assisi, edified in 1236 and rebuilt in Baroque style after 1693. The façade has two orders with marine symbols and a statue of the Immaculate. The dome is unfinished.
• Church of the Gesù (1570). The façade has eight statues portraying saints and the Madonna with Child. The interior, one a single nave, houses a Pietà by Filippo Paladino (1607) and Christ's Nativity by Polidoro da Caravaggio.
• Santa Maria del Monte (12th century).
• The Renaissance Church of the New Capuchins, in white stone, with a noteworthy treasure and a picture gallery.
• St. James.
• Also noteworthy is the Palazzo Senatorio (fifteenth century), the former Town Hall.

Notable people[link]

• Don Luigi Sturzo (1871–1959), founder of the Italian People's Party (Italian: Partito Popolare Italiano, later Democrazia Cristiana).
• Mario Scelba (1901–1991), Minister of the Interior and Prime Minister of Italy from February 1954 to July 1955.
• Silvio Milazzo (1903–1982), President of the Regional Government of Sicily from 1958-1960.
• Vincent Drucci (1898–1927) Chicago North Side Gang boss, born here in 1898.

Sister cities[link]

• Rijeka, Croatia
• San Francisco, USA

v t e World Heritage Sites in Italy North West Crespi d'Adda Genoa Mantua and Sabbioneta Portovenere Cinque Terre (Monterosso al Mare Vernazza Corniglia Manarola Riomaggiore), Palmaria Tino and Tinetto Residences of the Royal House of Savoy Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes1 Rock Drawings in Valcamonica Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan Monte San Giorgio North East Aquileia Botanical Garden, Padua Cathedral Torre Civica and Piazza Grande, Modena The Dolomites Ferrara Ravenna Venice Verona Vicenza and Palladian Villas of the Veneto Centre Assisi Cerveteri and Tarquinia Florence Hadrian's Villa Piazza del Duomo, Pisa Pienza Rome2 San Gimignano Siena Urbino Val d'Orcia Villa d'Este South Alberobello Amalfi Coast Castel del Monte Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park Paestum and Velia Certosa di Padula Naples Palace of Caserta Aqueduct of Vanvitelli and San Leucio Complex Pompeii Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata Sassi of Matera Islands Aeolian Islands Archaeological Area of Agrigento Barumini nuraghes Syracuse and Necropolis of Pantalica Val di Noto (Caltagirone Militello in Val di Catania Catania Modica Noto Palazzolo Acreide Ragusa Scicli) Villa Romana del Casale Nationwide Longobards in Italy, Places of Power (568-774 A.D.) Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps3 1 Shared with Switzerland 2 Shared with the Holy See 3 Shared with Austria, France, Germany, Slovenia, and Switzerland

References[link]