What to see in Sciacca, itinerary including the main monuments and places of interest, including the Walls of Vega, Porta San Salvatore and natural spas.
Tourist information
Country of about forty thousand inhabitants, Sciacca is located in the province of Agrigento, famous above all as a maritime and spa town, important from a tourist point of view and for the traditional carnival, with an important heritage of churches and monuments.
Geographically it is located along the coast of the Sicilian Channel between the mouths of the Platani and Belice river, positioned east of Monte San Calogero from which the renowned thermal waters flow.
The location of the village of Sciacca forms like an amphitheater on the sea from which you can see the island of Pantelleria and the city of Tunis, the capital of Tunisia on the African coast.
Not far away are the ruins of Selinunte, Eraclea Minoa and the city of Agrigento.
Authoritative historians derive the name Sciacca from Xech, a Saracen name synonymous with Governor and Lady.
The origins of Sciacca date back to very ancient times, probably that of the Sicani or Phoenicians.
What see
Traces of prehistoric civilization have been found in the Stufa cave, at the top of Monte San Calogero, and this would suggest that the beneficial properties of the water sources of this mountain were known to men ever since.
In Sciacca there are many works of high artistic value, including the Walls of Vega, erected in various stages, with the more recent ones from 1550 superimposed on the older ones from the 1300s, which bear the name of Giovanni Vega, the viceroy who he had it built and personally supervised the work.
The three entrance doors of the town are Porta Palermo, located near Piazza Sturzo, which has columns at the top embellished by a group of sculptures including a large Baroque eagle.
In the Porta San Salvatore, built in 1500 and located in Piazza del Carmine, valuable Renaissance sculptures stand out.
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Porta San Calogero, located in the square of the same name, dates back to 1536.
