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thermal baths
For the health and care of your body in just 5 minutes by car, you can reach the mountain Kronio (or Monte San Calogero). People tell so many legends about. Inside its hot caves you can unwind with natural saunas, thanks to steam coming from the bowels of the mountain.
You can also do treatments for rheumatism with natural mud, or for the skin, bathing in the pool of sulphuric water in the spa.
Sciacca has more than 20 types of mineral waters from different healing properties.
carnival
Sciacca also boasts of the tradition of Carnival, from 19th century. This event involves an enormous quantity of people, especially during the weekend, coming from everywhere. Huge puppets are built in papier-machè decorated by masters of our ceramics tradition using brilliant nuances. They pass through the city, almost grazing with sophisticated movements the ancient buildings of 18th century, while they are playing some funny tarantellas. Here, even the shyest person cannot resist dancing and enjoying this funny atmosphere.
the Madonna del Soccorso
The procession of the Madonna del Soccorso takes place on the 2nd day of February and on 15th August. The inhabitants of Sciacca are very devoted to her, who rescued them from the plague. In fact “Soccorso” means “rescue”. For this reason she is carried every year through the city, as an important sign of people’s gratitude for her miracles. This important and touching manifestation, involves thousands of believers, who silently pray during the route walking with bare feet. It is a really magic and moving moment when the fishermen raise the heavy statue inside the mother-church. They argue and fight (sometimes they even insult each other) in order to carry their loved Maria, just to catch the smallest space between the beams supporting the precious canopy, where the white marble statue stands. Then, when they get across the main gate, you have the feeling that they are crushed by the overwhelming weight: The statue (a masterpiece of the famous sculptor Gagini) seems falling down, but in the end, everything miraculously turns out well …
furthermore…
Sciacca is located among remarkable archeological sites: Eraclea Minoa with its Hellenistic theatre and Roman ruins, Agrigento with its Doric temples, Selinunte and Segesta in the opposite direction, with their remains of Greek cities and temples. They all are approximately distant only 30 or 40 minutes driving by car.
But the city itself was a very important and strategic center of different cultures that left remarkable signs of their presence during the centuries. Therefore architecture is quite original because it is a mix of various styles overlapped in the same buildings. For example the city walls are still an existing proof of the Spanish domination. They were built in fact by the viceroy De Vega, who wanted to protect the entire island from the enemies.
Besides, by walking through the city center, you can easily find sudden views on the silver sea between the ancient buildings of 18th century. And, from the wide balcony of the main square, during sunset, you can only be enchanted by the wakes left by the fishermen boats, which come back to the port after one day of fishing.
Last but not least, you can see Normans windows divided by the traditional twisted mullions in the facades, or sit down on the steps of a Catalan stair inside a wide old courtyards and maybe taste our Arab recipes or a fresh lemon “granita” and much more…
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