Caltagirone: 142 hand-painted majolica steps in Baroque Sicily

In Caltagirone, in Sicily's hilly interior, a long staircase cuts through the old town and climbs towards the church of Santa Maria del Monte. There are one hundred and forty-two steps, each decorated with hand-painted ceramic tiles: geometric and floral patterns, figures whose design changes from one step to the next. From a distance it looks like a carpet unrolled down the hillside, but it's only when you stop on the individual steps that the monument truly reveals itself.

The city of ceramics

Caltagirone has been a city of ceramics for centuries, and the staircase is its open-air manifesto. Most visitors gather at the first few steps, snap a photo and turn back. Climbing all the way to the top, on the other hand, changes everything: your breath grows shorter, the noise of the street fades, and from above the view opens over the rooftops and the Erei hills. Along the climb you'll come across artisan workshops where majolica is still worked by hand, far from mass production.

When to go

Compared with Sicily's better-known destinations, crowds here are a rarity. You can walk at your own pace, sit down on a step without having to wait your turn for a photo. It's worth visiting the staircase early in the morning or in the late afternoon, when the raking light sets the coloured glazes alight and the shadows deepen the contrasts. Avoid the middle of the day in the hottest months: the climb is exposed and the sun beats down.

Getting there

Caltagirone is easily reached by car from the Sicilian interior and deserves at least half a day, between the staircase, the Baroque churches and the small ceramics museum. It's the kind of place that rewards those who move slowly: no queues, no crush, just painted steps and the time to look at them one by one.

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