Discovering Sciacca and Favara between art, culture and tradition

Strolling through the streets of Sciacca, a small fishing village, and Favara, known as the city of the Easter lamb

Our journey to discover new Sicilian pearls continues and this time we are in Sciacca and Favara, the first a seafaring town, the second called the city of the Easter lamb, both located in the province of Agrigento.

During the journey, we discover wonderful views, all the way to our arrival in Sciacca, where we are welcomed by a representative of the Museum of the Five Senses, who tells us about this young reality very close to our project, created to enhance the territory. Even if the day is hot and the appointments on the agenda follow one another, we manage to visit one of the most renowned coral workshops in the city, where we can see with our own eyes, how much effort and how much work there is behind the creation of an object made by hand.

After a fleeting lunch, we meet Angela, owner of a B&B located in the historic center, who, in love with her work and her city, shows us the great potential that Sciacca can offer the traveler in terms of experiences. To make us better understand what she is talking about, she has organized a pleasant surprise for us: an Ape taxi ride through the streets of the city to discover the most remote corners. Beautiful experience! Our driver, Francesco, makes us experience the city in all its alleys, narrating the history of Sciacca and its most important monuments and churches; he helps us discover the Kasbah and the Jewish quarter, takes us up to the port where we meet fishermen who have just returned from their working day, intent on unloading boxes full of fresh fish of all kinds. And to further convey the idea of ​​how hospitable the locals are, we are invited to taste the freshly caught shrimps, with their incomparable taste.

But it doesn’t stop there. It is well known how proud fishermen are of their work and of their boats and, thus, the captain Pippo shows us his fishing boat, allowing us to appreciate the tradition of the local fishermen. To pay homage to our visit, before leaving, we receive a beautiful, rare, and precious shell as a gift!

After this small interlude at the port, almost at the end of our tour, Francesco leads us to one of the most characteristic views of Sciacca: an alley full of mosaics, entirely made by a private individual who, falling in love with the town, bought a house inside a cave creating over the years wonderful mosaics using various recycled objects, in order to make the environment more welcoming! Initially, this open-air work was not understood but in the end, the artist won and today this is one of the most photographed alleys in Sciacca!

Sciacca, in addition to being a seaside village, is known for its ceramics, carnival, and coral, one of the city’s flagship activities. Returning from the Ape Taxi tour, we meet Peppino, owner of a coral workshop in which a small museum has been set up, entirely curated by him. Taking advantage of our meeting, he allows us to visit the museum and tells us about the origins of coral and all its peculiarities.

We could spend hours listening to him but our day is not over yet and, therefore, after the usual photos, greetings, and a visit to Angela’s B&B, we go to visit another place. Guess where? But of course! We could not give up the famous granita of uncle “Aurelio”, owner of a historic bar in the port, very famous for the totally genuine lemon granita! And to welcome us there is Uncle Aurelio himself, a man of other times, who rejoices in being in the presence of three young women! We share this experience with fellow friends/colleagues with whom we had arranged to meet right here and chat about new adventures to enjoy together.

Tired but happy, we drive towards Agrigento, towards a splendid boutique hotel in the heart of the Valley of the Temples. After greeting our host, we can only abandon ourselves to total relaxation, in a magical location where our 5 senses are lulled to 360 degrees: a combination of flower beds, vegetable gardens, swimming pool, restaurant, gym. Not to mention the rooms: all beautiful! Some of them with a private swimming pool and a wonderful view of the Temple of Juno! What to say?! A corner of paradise … It may be for this reason that the ancient Greeks chose these places to build their wonderful Temples which, even today, impress as they continue to stand. During our very short stay, the host, Enzo, and all the staff pampered us in every way. We are so grateful. This day is also over and we are finally going to sleep but, when we wake up, another beautiful experience awaits us. https://isolanepercaso.it/doric-bed-boutique-hotel-agrigento-sicily/

We get up early and after a hearty breakfast, we leave for Favara, about a 10-minute drive from Agrigento, where Annalisa is waiting for us. Who is Annalisa? A cheerful, sunny, volcanic woman … in short, a Sicilian woman par excellence! Annalisa immediately involves us in a pleasant tasting, taking us to one of the historic pastry shops in the center of town. Here ricotta cannoli and the “Paste di Elena”, a typical Favarese dessert created in honor of the Queen of Italy Elena di Savoia, enhance our senses. Even today, many people who have moved to the north, make a compulsory stop in this laboratory to buy these delicacies, when they return for holidays.

After finishing our tasting, we move to Annalisa’s house, a warm and sunny environment, where we live a “sweet experience”: how to prepare the “cubaita”, nougat from Favara, whose name derives from the Arabic word for “almond”. The method is very simple: you just need sugar and almonds in equal measure and be careful during the cooking phase. Then the still boiling fluid mixture is spread on a marble base and quickly blends into the shapes you want most. Just don’t get distracted and that’s it!
https://isolanepercaso.it/at-annalisa-s-house-favara-sicily/

It is lunchtime and the streets are deserted. It is hot, but we continue our tour through the narrow streets of the historic center of Favara. We visit the cathedral and the castle with its large dome visible from all over the city and then immerse ourselves in an example of the recovery of a district of the city. Within its 7 courtyards, and thanks to the work of a couple who created the Farm Cultural Park, you can admire art installations modern and contemporary and various places for a pleasant stop.

As always, the time has come to go home, satisfied with the beautiful and unexpected experiences and the beautiful people we met!

We are ready for a new experience …. and you?