Scrumpdillyicious: Caltagirone: Sicily's Colourful Capital of Ceramics

The hilltop village of Caltagirone rises like a mirage above the parched landscape of central Sicily. While the ceramic tradition dates to prehistoric times, the name of the town itself is Arabic in origin, a derivation of the words 'kalat' and 'gerun', meaning 'castle' and 'cave'. Little remains of the town's early structures, as it was almost entirely destroyed by the earthquake in 1693. Subsequently rebuilt in the baroque style so typical of Sicily's southeast, it is one of the islands eight UNESCO world heritage sites. Today, Caltagirone is the most important ceramic centre in Sicily. The designs are bold and brash, with a palette dominated by blues, greens and yellows and big, bold designs, which exude a sense of warmth and cheer that feel as if they could only exist on Sicily. The ceramic tradition is visible in every part of the town, not only in its numerous shops selling ceramics and maiolica, but also throughout the city’s architecture, balustrades, vases, and other decorative ceramic features enhancing the streets of the baroque town, including the magnificent Staircase of Santa Maria del Monte built in 1606, which connects the old part of the town with the newer one. The 'scalinata' consist of 142 steps, covered with colorful tin-glazed ceramics. The lower steps show older ceramics, while the newer ones are located in the higher part of the stairs. The stairs owe their name to the Mother Church of Santa Maria del Monte, former seat of the religious authority, which sits at the top of the stairs.

Nestled in the historic centre of Caltagirone, Ristorante Il Locandiere is a cosy and elegant family-run restaurant tucked in a side street close to the famous stairway, and those in the know head to this smart little restaurant for top-quality seafood and impeccable service. What exactly you'll eat depends on the day's catch, but the degustation appetizer of hot and cold dishes is superb, as is the homemade pasta. An extensive wine list compliments the menu and our server, one of the sons, was enormously welcoming and an absolute delight. One of the first to arrive for lunch, within minutes the restaurant was completely full, including a table of five uniformed carabinieri that walked in just as the 'Pink Panther' theme song was playing which featured Inspector Clouseau — very funny indeed!

Built in 1608 and the main landmark in Caltagirone, the Staircase of Santa Maria del Monte is a 142-step staircase made from thousands of ceramic tiles

Ceramiche Artistiche Andres perched on the 'scalinata'

A gorgeous platter with the iconic Sicilian colours of blue, green and yellow

feature on much of the ceramics from Caltagirone

An artist hand painting a piece before it's glaze fired to secure the colours

Halfway up the steps, we stopped for a cappuccino on Via Scordia where we discovered Katia's lovely shop where she sells her own hand made ceramics

Katia Piazza Ceramiche d'Arte is on a tiny Via Scordia off the Scalinata di Santa Maria del Monte

The beautiful handmade plate I bought from Katia Piazza, a lovely and talented artist from Caltagirone

Ceramiche Artistiche Enza Gulino where we bought some one of a kind Sicilian ceramics as gifts

for friends and family

Each step is decorated with different hand-decorated ceramics, using styles and figures derived from the millennial tradition of pottery making

View from the top of the Scalinata di Santa Maria del Monte

Ristorante il Locandiere in Caltagirone

il Locandiere menu celebrates 'cucina tradizionale siciliana di pesce'

Those in the know head to this smart little restaurant for top quality seafood and impeccable service

Arriving just after the restaurant opened, we were the only guests but a few minutes later it was completely full, including a table of six uniformed carabinieri