Like many Americans of Sicilian descent the desire to return to the town of my grandparents has been a strong one. But getting to Montedoro, which is deep in the interior, is not easy. Our Sicily vacation was a terrific vacation thanks to good planning but by far the best decision we made was to hire an English speaking driver and car from Sicily Travelnet. Our driver, Sebastiano, picked us up from our hotel in a Mercedes sedan and was a delight. He wasn’t just a driver. He was our guide and translator as we drove through the countryside and met my distance relatives. Our trip to Montedoro was a deeply personal experience that would not have been possible without Sebastiano.
Montedoro tour
A day trip in the heart of Sicily
The small villlage of Montedoro sits on a hill called "Monte Octavio", 500 mt. above sea level and 32 km west of the city of Caltanisetta. It was founded at the begining of 1600’s by the noble family Aragona. They gave the town the name “Montedoro” because it was situated in an area that in the past was characterized by the production of sulphur, then considered “The gold of Sicily”."
Fantastic tour of Montedoro! Tripadvisor review
The tour starts in “Piazza Europa” where in the center stands the “Chiesa Madre”. It is dedicated to the Holy Mary of the Rosary and it was constructed in 1644. The front of the building that has changed many times is in gothic renaissance style. Inside we find the baptismal font in marble baroque style of remarkable artistic value.
Our exploration of Montedoro continues with a visit to the “Case museo” of the early ‘900, characterized by the typical architecture of the peasant civilization,and a stop at the “villa comunale” enriched by numerous sculptures, paintings and murales by various contemporary artist.
Finally, we visit of the “Museo delle miniere”, a new museum telling the story of mining in Montedoro with a recostruction of the ambience of old sulphur mines. It helps understand the hardship of the life of miners and "carusi", the small boys who carried out the sulfur rocks to furnaces located nearby.
Tour type: private tour from a Agrigento, Palermo, Catania, Taormina hotels/ accommodation. Half day from Agrigento and full day from Palermo, Catania and Taormina.
Chauffer- driven. On demand we can provide English speaking driver/ guide and/or licensed tour guide.
Time duration: the tour can be done in half day (about 3 hours). It can be combined with the tour of Palma di Montechiaro (about 7 hours)
Driving time: 1 hour from Agrigento, 2 hours from Palermo, Catania and Taormina.
Departure time: on demand
Meeting place: your selected hotel/ accommodation