Caltagirone

Pottery has shaped Caltagirone for centuries, and this inland Sicilian town remains a working centre for maiolica and terra-cotta ceramics, with workshops throughout its late-Baroque historic centre. The centrepiece is a long ceramic-decorated staircase that climbs through the old town, which was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002 as part of the Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto. The walkable centre is thick with historic churches, cafés, and listed buildings, set among the hills between the plains of Catania and Gela.

• Population35,765
• Nearest water1.2 km
• Nearest mountain28.6 km
• UNESCO within 50 km7