Chiaramonte Gulfi

Chiaramonte Gulfi is a small town rich in wonderful monuments and cultural attractions.

The Siracusani founded the first settlement of the village of Chiaramonte Gulfi in VI century BC. The town was then colonised by Romans and Arabs but later completely destroyed by a huge fire in 1299. Manfredi I Chiaromonte, count of Modica, rebuilt the old town in a safer site with fortified walls, but it was again damaged after the 1693 earthquake. Rebuilt once more, they added Gulfi to the name in memory of the ancient city.

This charming village includes lots of interesting museums:

The Museum of Sacred Art, which has four sections: sacred art, plastic art, paintings, furnitures and ceramics. In the first section you can admire gold and silk copes, silver chalices, mother of pearl altar cross, fine stoles and capes. In the second section the museum displays the terracotta sculptures made by the artist Giuseppe Criscione and over thirty “figures” of the Nativity. In the last two sections there are impressive paintings by the famous Sicilian painter Montanucci and the wonderful ceramics created by Giacomo Alessi. The Embroidery Museum(Museo del Ricamo e dello Sfilato Siciliano), houses a series of the famous embroideries made with the traditional technique called Sfilato Siciliano, along with vintage furnishings, photographs and precious craft tools. At the Casa Liberty, this charming house displays precious objects made by artists such as Rene Lalique, Legras, Calderoni and custom-designed furniture by Ernesto Basile and Carlo Zeno. The Ornithological museum displays the collection of brothers Paolo and Giuseppe Azzara that began in the 1950s, with over 600 specimens of birds, some of which are already extinct. Other interesting cultural attractions are: the War museum, The Museum of Musical Instruments, the Oil museum and the Pinacoteca Giovanni De Vita.

This charming village has two holy places, the first being the Basilica di Santa Maria La Nova built in 1450 and located in the old town centre. It has a Gothic style which was enriched with Baroque details in 1608. The second one is Santuario della Beata Maria Vergine di Gulfi, this sacred place is dedicated to one of the Patron Saints of Chiaramonte Gulfi with San Giovanni Battista. Every year this church plays host to worshippers from every part of Sicily.

People live here:

8.218

Attractions:

Sagra del Gallo ai Sapori chiaramontani, food festival

Sagra della Focaccia, food festival

Sagra dell’Uva a Roccazzo di Chiaramonte Gulfi, food festival

Sagra dell’olio, food festival

Sagra della salsiccia, food festival

How to get there:

From Catania

Follow A18/E45, Strada Statale 194/SS194 and Strada Statale 514/SS514 to Strada Provinciale 7/SP7 in Chiaramonte Gulfi. Take the exit toward Aeroporto/Chiaramonte G./Comiso from Strada Statale 514/SS514.

Continue on Strada Provinciale 7/SP7. Take Strada Provinciale 8/SP8 to Via Corallo in Chiaramonte Gulfi.

Accommodations:

B&B Vento del Sud

http://www.ventodelsud.org/

Hotel Antica Stazione 3 *

http://www.anticastazione.com/

B&B Augusta 3 *

http://www.bbaugusta.it/

B&B Caro Carrubo

http://carocarrubo.org/

Country House Case Passamonte

http://www.agriturismocasepassamonte.it/