We made our way up to the historic center of Sciacca via a stairway that worked its way up the hill in levels.

We emerged from the staircase at the edge of a large piazza, where a monument stood at one end.  The piazza turned out to be Piazza Angelo Scandaliato, and the monument was a statue of Tommaso Fazello, a Dominican friar who was also a noted historian and theologian.  Fazello was responsible for the very first printed history of the island of Sicily, which he wrote and published in Palermo in 1558.  He was also responsible for the discovery of ancient sites, among which was the Temple of Olympian Zeus, in the Valley of the Temples of Agrigento, featured in an earlier post.

A small monument in the same piazza honors Giuseppe Palminteri, whose family was from Sciacca, and who was killed at the age of 36, in a mid-air collision between two Italian Air Force planes, during an exercise in the skies above Ascoli Piceno, where he was based.

The Chiesa di San Domenico, also on Piazza Angelo Scandaliato, dates from the 16th century, when it was founded by Tommaso Fazello, whose monument stands a few feet away.  The church was rebuilt at the end of the 18th century, to a design by Ermenegildo Vetrano.

The former Collegio dei Gesuiti now hosts the town hall.  The structure was built in 1613, by the Jesuits.  The building later became state property.

A metal cut-out honors the film director Pietro Germi, who shot part of his film, “Seduced and Abandoned,” in Sciacca.

The Duomo di Sciacca, also known as the Basilica Maria Santissima del Soccorso, was founded in 1108.  The three statues, on the facade, date from 1541, and are the work of Giandomenico and Antonino Gagini.  The statues represent Santa Maria Maddalena, in the center, while the side niches house San Pietro Apostolo and San Paolo Apostolo.  For some reason, every time we attempted to visit the inside of the Duomo, it was closed.  Having learned long ago that printed opening times are in reality only hints, as to when one might gain access to the interior of a church or museum, we shrugged, and continued to explore.  We would actually experience this again while in Sciacca, when we attempted to visit the Museo Francesco Scaglione.  The printed hours, on display by the doorway, said that the museum was open, but it was not.  When a local saw us struggling with the buzzer, they came over, and tried to get someone to open the door, but even their efforts went unheeded.  Whomever was supposed to be manning the fort that day must have decided to stay home, or simply had something better to do.  Again, there is nothing one can do in that situation, except to shrug, and move on, which is what we did.

The Casa Infontaneta dates from the 15th century.  It was through a window of this house, whose rear borders the ancient city walls, that Sigismondo Luna, with the aid of Gian Pietro Infontaneta, entered the city with 100 of his henchmen, during the second siege of Sciacca, in 1528.  Today, the ground floor of the building hosts art galleries and shops.

Along the side of the Duomo, you will now find an 18th century fountain, which once sat in the garden of the Convent of Santa Maria di Valverde.

 

Next up: We continue to explore more of the historical center of Sciacca!

 

<em>Note: This blog is written in English and Spanish, and the author takes no responsibility for the quality of any other translations that may appear.  If you have enjoyed this post, please, check out our archives for more posts from Sciacca, as well as other Italian destinations.  Grazie!</em>

 

 

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