Caltagirone Sicily Walking tour. Meeting Locals and Exploring Ceramics Shops! 🇮🇹(16)

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In this episode of the Saro show I pretend to be a US tourist in Caltagirone!!
Caltagirone is an inland city and comune in the Metropolitan City of Catania, on the island (and region) of Sicily, southern Italy, about 70 kilometres (43 mi) southwest of Catania. It is the fifth most populous municipality of the Metropolitan City, behind Catania, Acireale, Misterbianco and Paternò. Alongside Catania, it is the only town who is seat of a tribunal in the former province. Since 1987, the comune has obtained the City title, through presidential act. After Caltanissetta, it is the second most populous comune in Central Sicily.
The town is a production center 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), third-sector activities and tourism.
The city's name derives from the Arabic "qal'at-al-jarar" ("Castle of [pottery] jars") - a name that attests to the antiquity of the pottery works which are still thriving. It has been inhabited since prehistoric times, as shown by the presence of two necropoleis dating from the second millennium BCE and by numerous other archaeological finds. It was later inhabited by the Sicels pre-Roman population.
The Arabs built a castle here that in 1030 was attacked by Ligurian troops under the Byzantine general George Maniakes, who 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 were then reconstructed in a Sicilian Baroque style. Primarily for this reason the city has been included, together with the surrounding territory, in an area protected by the UNESCO World Heritage program.
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.
It was built in 1606 in order to connect the ancient part of Caltagirone to the new city built in the upper part. The staircase, over 130 meters (430 ft) long, is flanked by balcony buildings and is today one of the identifying monuments of the city.
Since 1954, the steps leading to the church of Santa Maria del Monte have been entirely decorated with polychrome ceramic tiles, following the ancient local artisan tradition.
The figurative themes of the ceramics are floral or geometric, and represent the Arab, Norman, Angevin-Aragonese, Spanish, Renaissance, Baroque, eighteenth-century, nineteenth-century and contemporary styles.

[@wayrablues]

Maravilloso pueblo y la cerámica que hacen sus artesanos es muy hermosa.

[@dadaphos]

Amazing

[@emanu3d]

fantastic!

[@evanielsen1934]

Denmark is sending love and joy. ;)

[@spooky_ono2222]

Amazing ceramics 😈

[@izabelajankowska7156]

Izyfoty,pozdrawiam ,dziękuję

[@SaroShow]

Ehhm I don't understand 😅😅

[@Mugen_MentalAlchemist]

🤘😎

[@subayyalsabir4868]

Love from Pakistan 🇵🇰, Sicily have deep culture and traditions

[@SaroShow]

Thanks brother! It's true, thanks for watching 🙏I hope to visit your country soon ❤️

[@esmeraldagreen1992]

Yes, but the government there sucks big time

[@albertocostanzo8178]

Wow what a beautiful town

[@HarisArshadSaigal]

Brother you are making me fall in love with Sicily

[@HarisArshadSaigal]

Ceramic painting on the Church wall is extraordinary.

[@SaroShow]

Come to visit Sicily my friend!

[@beckyburrow8576]

Beautiful place💕💐🌞

[@itzdevilzone9456]

i am from India

[@esmeraldagreen1992]

Smalto = Enamel
With 2 firings you make ceramics
1 firing will give you terracotta

[@muhammadadilkhan281]

Come to Pakistan and enjoy our beautiful scenery food culture and our hospitality
Inshallah you will enjoy our country and your subscribers will be increase