{"id":13631,"date":"2017-01-31T09:58:09","date_gmt":"2017-01-31T08:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.visitsicily.info\/?p=13631"},"modified":"2021-11-03T15:43:30","modified_gmt":"2021-11-03T14:43:30","slug":"the-street-of-writers","status":"publish","type":"itinerario","link":"https:\/\/www.visitsicily.info\/en\/itinerario\/the-street-of-writers\/","title":{"rendered":"The writers road along the SS 640"},"content":{"rendered":"

The route of the\u00a0writers, along the area of the\u00a0\u00a0Valley of the Temples<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0r<\/strong>uns through the places where some of the greatest Sicilian writers lived. An itinerary full of artistic, archaeological and natural beauties,\u00a0 together with food and wine traditions.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start our journey by exploring the places so long described \u00a0by Andrea Camilleri<\/strong>: the \u00a0Scala<\/strong> dei Turchi<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0an outstanding sheer cliff rising above the sea along the coast of Realmonte; the second stop is the kaleidoscopic Cathedral of Salt, where you can admire some interesting sculptures carved out of salt rock and stone: bas-reliefs,\u00a0stoups and sacred\u00a0ornaments\u2026<\/p>\n

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The route crosses the amazing\u00a0Kolymbetra Garden\u00a0<\/strong>,\u00a0once a wastewater collection, then changed \u00a0into a sort of Garden of Eden, nowadays completely restored and enhanced by Fai\u00a0(the National Trust for Italy). In Greek times\u00a0 it was\u00a0\u201ca large pool \u2026 <\/em>with a perimeter of seven stadia,\u00a0 <\/em>\u2026 .. twenty fathoms deep \u2026 where the Phaeacian Aqueducts flowed, a nursery of refined flora and abundant wildlife\u201d <\/em>according to the description by Diodorus Siculus in the first century After Christ.\u00a0For Pirandello it is \u201cthe ancient famous Colimb\u00e8tra akragantina \u2026 much farther down, at the lowest point of the plateau, where three small valleys come together and the rocks separate and the line of the rough cliff, where the Temples rise, is interrupted by a large opening. In that place, now called Abbadia bassa, the inhabitans of the old Akragas, a hundred years after the foundation of their city, had set the fishing place, a large basin of water that extended until the Hypsas river and whose dike concurred \u2013 together with the river \u2013 to the fortification of the city\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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History, myth, and literature blend together into Contrada\u00a0Caos<\/em><\/strong>,\u00a0 the district where\u00a0Luigi Pirandello<\/strong>\u2019s home birth lays,\u00a0nearby Villa Seta,in\u00a0\u00a0Agrigento <\/strong><\/a>\u2013 up to the historic center of Girgenti<\/strong>,\u00a0 whose characters inspired Pirandello\u2019s novels and short stories. Here we find the Lucchesian Library , the Church of Itria, where the writer married, his family home in via Pirandello, the Church of San Pietro, and then courtyards, alleys and amazing landscapes, such as\u00a0 Viale della Vittoria<\/em> or Piazza Sinatra<\/em>, described in his novels.
\nAgrigento\u2019s Cathedral is one of the places described in the famous novel Il Gattopardo<\/em>.<\/strong> In the bell tower \u00a0top the letter of the devil<\/em>, is closely guarded. It is the mysterious manuscript of Sister Maria Crocifissa, the Blessed Corbera mentioned by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa in his magnum opus<\/em>. If you\u2019d like to retrace the sites of the Gattopardo, you must go to Palma di Montechiaro, 20 minutes drive by driving \u00a0from Agrigento, where you can visit the Tomasi Family residences, from Palazzo Ducale to the castle and finally, the Monastery. <\/strong>Do not miss a visit to the cloistered nuns and a tasting of the delicious \u00a0\u201cricci di mandorla\u201d, also known as \u201cGattopardo\u2019s hedgehogs<\/strong>\u201c, the famous biscuits celebrated all over the world for being mentioned in this literary masterpiece.<\/p>\n

From the Mosella<\/strong>\u00a0junction, in front of the Rupe Atenea, driving along barns, olive groves and fields of fallow fields,\u00a0 we go back over the path leading\u00a0 to the country manor of Baron\u00a0 Agnello<\/strong>.\u00a0This is the landscape dear to Simonetta Agnello Hornby, <\/strong>the one that has inspired most of her novels set in Sicily, \u00a0in the mythical places of her childhood memories.<\/p>\n

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Our next stop is Vigata<\/em><\/strong>, the town cited in the famous saga of \u201cIl Commissario Montalbano\u201d by Andrea Camilleri<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Actually its true name is Marina di Girgenti<\/strong>, the current Porto Empedocle<\/strong>, where the majestic Tower of Carlo V<\/strong> stands out, and where the facts of \u201cLa strage dimenticata<\/em><\/strong>\u201d (The forgotten massacre), another novel by Andrea Camilleri, were set.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s discover the charm of the hinterland countries, which through innovative urban regeneration projects, have been changed into centers of great interest;\u00a0such as\u00a0Favara<\/strong>,\u00a0the birthplace of the writer\u00a0Antonio Russello<\/strong>, whose most degraded neighborhoods today\u00a0have been\u00a0\u00a0changed into a fantastic open-air contemporary art museum:\u00a0the\u00a0Farm Cultural Park<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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In Racalmuto<\/strong>, among many other places of interest, we find Castello Chiaramontano<\/strong>\u00a0 and Teatro<\/strong> Regina Margherita<\/strong>, a small Italian theater, used as a cinema while Leonardo Sciascia was a child. \u00a0A commemorative statue sculptured by Giuseppe Agnello, located \u00a0on the main street, depicts the writer walking and thoughtful, with the inevitable cigarette between his \u00a0fingers. Our visit continues with the Leonardo Sciascia Foundation<\/strong>, a former power plant, excellently restored, a real treasure site for the writer\u2019s scholars and fans. Just outside the city, through the state road to Montedoro, we reach the sicane tombs also known as the Caves of Fra Diego La Matina<\/em><\/strong>, cited by Sciascia in his novel Death of the Inquisitor<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 Not far from the village, is the writer\u2019s country house where he loved to retreat and follow his passion for writing, sometimes meeting \u00a0his friends, including \u00a0many well-known writers of the time.<\/p>\n

Caltanissetta<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0defined by Sciascia the \u201csmall Athens\u201d, gave \u00a0birth to famous characters like Piermaria Rosso di San Secondo<\/strong>, a big dramaturge, the poet Stefano Vilardo<\/strong> and the politician and journalist\u00a0Emanuele Macaluso<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Among the delicacies<\/strong> cited in our writers\u2019 novels\u00a0 there are\u00a0 the\u00a0cavatelli<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0of\u00a0Agrigento\u00a0(short strips of pasta with opposite edges rolled towards each other to form a hollow shape), the oranges of Ribera, the peach of Bibona, the grapes of Canicatt\u00ec, the sardines \u201cmeatballs\u201d and the cantaloupe melon\u00a0in\u00a0Licata, the cuttlefish soup in Siculiana Marina, the rabbit in sour cream in Sant\u2019angelo Muxaro, the\u00a0<\/strong>stigghiola<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>and the lemon\u00a0<\/strong>taralli<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>in Racalmuto,<\/em><\/strong> \u2018u pitaggiu<\/em>\u00a0with broad beans, peas and artichokes in Castrofilippo, the\u00a0macco di \u00a0fave<\/em>\u00a0in Raffadali, the\u00a0tagano<\/em>\u00a0in Aragona (a typical Easter savory pie), the curly biscuits made by the Benedictine nuns in Palma of Montechiaro, the ricotta rollade, the nougat in Caltanissetta. \u00a0\u00a0And moreover, the sweet cous cous <\/em>prepared by the nuns of Santo Spirito in Agrigento, the cuccureddi<\/em>, typical ancient sweets made in Delia, nowadays a \u00a0Slow Food presidium<\/em>, and the famous \u2018mbriulate\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>of Milena.<\/p>\n

The typical Easter sweet in Favara is the Easter Lamb<\/strong>. It is a marzipan and pistachios paste dessert, covered with the so-called \u201cvelata\u201d (a sugar glaze), richly decorated with small bells, silver sugar pearls, ribbons and small, red flags.<\/p>\n

The dessert recalls the idea of Jesus as Lamb of God and dates back to the early twentieth century, when it was prepared by the nuns of the Collegio di Maria located in the district \u201cBatia\u201d in Favara.<\/p>\n

We can look at the preparation of this yummy dessert, and eat it of course, at Chiaramonte Castle<\/strong> during the Easter Lamb Festival which takes place every year during the Easter Holidays.<\/p>\n

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According to tradition, the dessert dates back to the early twentieth century, when it was prepared by the sisters of the College of Mary, located in \u201cBatia\u201d neighbourhood, to remember Jesus as the Lamb of God. We can watch the preparation of the cake and eat it during the Easter Lamb Festival<\/strong><\/p>\n

Read more: <\/em>Strada degli Scrittori\u00a0<\/strong><\/a> info@visitvalledeitempli.it

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