Scicli

UNESCO registered town in the Val Di Noto.
Like a time capsule, this town has a magical feeling. Ancient cave dwellings only very recently vacated and a distinctly slow pace of life. Twisting paths and little concession to modern fast paced life, means it remains a unique place.

Main sights
The church of Santa Marìa la Nova, with a huge Neoclassicist façade. The interior houses a cypresse-wood statue of Madonna della Pietà, probably of Byzantine origin.
The Mother Church of St. Ignatz, housing the highly venerated image of Madonna dei Milìci (see Culture section).
The scenographic St. Bartholomew in Baroque style.
The Town Hall, the Palazzo Spadaro and the Palazzo Beneventano, all boasting Baroque decorations.

Culture
The city is also frequently used as a film set, most recently for Marco Bellocchio's Il regista dei matrimoni and is popular in Italy as the home of Commissioner Montalbano from the popular television series broadcast by RAI.

The city is also notable for its religious parades which includes "Presepe" (nativity scenes) enacted in the caves surrounding the city at Christmas time. These caves known as the Chiarafura caves were dug out in the tufa cliffs, and some were inhabited by the local poor as recently as 1958.

At Easter, the city celebrates with the "Uomo Vivo" parade which involves a long religious procession through the city. A decorated horse parade takes place in March, from Scicli to the neighbouring town of Donnalucata. The most spectacular religious festival, the A Maronna i Milici occurs in May, commemorating the appearance of the the Madonna on a white horse holding aloft a sword. This encouraged the Christian Normans to defeat the Saracens in 1091.

The economy of the city is mostly agricultural, and the area is renowned for its many greenhouses producing the primizie ("early fruits") that are exported all over Italy.