A TRIP TO CALTAGIRONE

It occurred to me the other day that it is many years since I have visited the "ceramics town" of Caltagirone. It is about an hour and a half's drive from here in the Catania direction but not easy to get to by public transport. I mentioned it to Rosa, who immediately exclaimed, "But my husband will take you anywhere you want to go on a Sunday!" Thus it was arranged. [I paid him, of course, as he usually does casual work on Sundays. He said he much preferred the idea of an outing!]

So this morning the three of us set off in jovial mood, with the car stereo playing cheerful Greek music. It crossed my mind that here I was, a Welshwoman in Sicily, in a car with two Albanians with whom I speak Italian, listening to Greek lyrics. That, to me, is what Europe is all about - or should be.

How, you may ask, did Caltagirone become the ceramics capital of this side of Sicily? It seems that there was already a ceramics industry there at the time of the Arabic invasion and the Arabs taught the local craftsmen techniques such as glazing. The town's name derives from Arabic and means "Castle / Fortress of Vases / Genies".

Arriving at our destination at around 9.15 am., we hurried towards Caltagirone's main attraction, La Scala, a monumental stairway built in 1608. In 1954 local artists decorated the 142 steps with ceramic patterns which were used as far back as the tenth century. This stairway is illuminated for 25th July, the day of the town's patron saint, San Giacomo. On either side of the stairway you can see craftsmen at work in their shops, as you can all over Caltagirone. Here are Rosa and Fulvio [both have Italianised their first names] on the stairway:

And Rosa and me:

A detail from the steps:
There are ceramics everywhere in Caltagirone:


Many of the craftspeople make cribs and the figurines for these. I have always loved the way that, in Sicily, the onlookers at the Nativity are portrayed as ordinary, local people of a century or so ago. This must make it easier for children to identify with the story and also enable people to feel closer to their religion. There is a presepe [crib] museum in Caltagirone and here is a crib from one of the shops we visited:


I would have liked to have purchased the central figurine in this shop window but I couldn't afford it, nor would I have room for it. Fortunately for me, the shop was closed!

The same goes for these owls in their little dwellings. [Owls are a symbol of good luck in Italy.]


Here is a detail of the Cathedral façade

and the bell tower:

The municipal park has this lovely gazebo. In 1693 much of Caltagirone was destroyed by the famous earthquake and the town's reconstruction left many irregular corners. However, that is not the reason why this first picture is slightly wonky; I was taking it using one hand whilst holding on to Rosa for dear life with the other, as if I absentmindedly step back to focus a photo I still fall over! [I don't know how to "unwonkify" it.]



The park is really very pleasant with some attractive vistas:



And my purchases? Well, I like lemon squeezers

and I have long coveted one of these. [What is it for?]

For stacking your plastic beakers when you entertain your hordes of friends and relatives!


Here are the links to some shops we visited as you can view their wares on their sites better than in any photographs I could take:

Vincenzo Velardita
Ceramiche Conarce s.r.l.
Brillantino

I liked Caltagirone very much on my first trip there and I like it even more now.