Ragusa, a UNESCO site, is worth more than a short visit during your journey in Sicily: you will discover another Sicily, far from common stereotypes. Moreover, Ragusa and its countryside are not excessively touristy. So, if you are planning to travel during the high season in summer, Ragusa would be a great area for your lodging.
Besides being the co-founder of Uncovered Sicily, I’m a licensed guide in south-eastern Sicily, and I'd like to provide some tips and suggestions for spending a weekend or three days in Ragusa, my birthplace.
Day 1: Upper Ragusa (Ragusa Superiore), Ragusa Ibla, trek along Cava Misericordia or Cava Celone
I recommend starting with a very easy urban walk from the cathedral of San Giovanni Battista in Ragusa Superiore to Ragusa Ibla. This itinerary would allow you to discover the highlights in a less typical way and avoid touristy paths.
Both the old town center of Ragusa Superiore and Ragusa Ibla were built after the earthquake of 1693, which destroyed many medieval towns in the Val di Noto area in south-eastern Sicily. These towns were rebuilt in the late-Baroque style with impressive grandeur: today, eight Val di Noto cities are listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Most travel guides only suggest seeing Ragusa Ibla and often skip Ragusa Superiore, but all of my guests have loved this walking tour along the stairs between the two, with amazing glimpses of the city. It takes 3 or 4 hours depending on the opening times of the churches, and whether you opt to enter them! Here you will find the general opening times of the churches in Ragusa, but the tourism information point at Piazza San Giovanni can provide updated schedules.
In the upper part of Ragusa, you would find some Baroque facades decorated with amusing and intriguing stone mascarons. Find Palazzo Zacco on via San Vito, Palazzo Bertini on Corso Italia, and the Balcon of Saracens on via XXIV Maggio, before reaching the church of Santa Maria delle Scale, whose interior hides some of the most interesting structures of the late Catalan Gothic architecture in south-eastern Sicily.
Palazzo Zacco Ragusa Superiore
Santa Maria dell'Itria
Then choose one of the several stairs to run down to the small blue dome of Santa Maria dell’Itria’s church, that welcomes you in Ragusa Ibla.
It’s the moment to lose yourselves in the narrow alleys. My personal tip: climb up to the Salita dell’Orologio (just under the Purgatorio church’s bell tower) and explore an untrodden path to reach Piazza San Giorgio. Expect an immersion into a baroquely dressed medieval town.
The mighty dome of the Duomo di San Giorgio will guide you to the square where you will admire the jewel in the crown of our Baroque architecture: the facade of San Giorgio, designed by the architect Rosario Gagliardi. Most Val di Noto’s Baroque masterpieces were designed by this architect from Siracusa, who represented a benchmark for other local architects in the 18th and 19th centuries.
San Giorgio in Ragusa Ibla
Giardini Iblei
Before relaxing and enjoying the beauty of the Giardini Iblei, the city’s public gardens, stop at Salumeria Il Barocco, where you can sit and enjoy a glass of wine paired with some typical Sicilian delicacies while engaging in some people-watching. Tina will introduce you to the world of Sicilian cheeses and cured meats, from the sheep and goat milk cheeses from the Agrigento area to the Ragusano Caciocavallo PDO cheese of Ragusa province, and also the Nebrodi Black Pig ham and salami.
If you prefer a traditional lunch, catch a taxi near the bus stop at the Giardini Iblei, or take a local bus and return to Ragusa Superiore and Taverna del Lupo (don’t forget to book in advance!) located at Piazza Capuccini. The rule is: don’t ask to read the menu! Mr. Giuseppe will help you choose the best pasta ever with wild greens and seasonal vegetables, or fresh fish.
Feel like having a walk in nature? Well, in the afternoon, you could put on your trekking shoes and immerse yourselves in one of our Monti Iblei canyons that surround our cities. You would find some archaeological remains such as prehistoric necropolises and late-antique catacombs. Let’s start to discover Cava Misericordia or Cava Celone (“cava” is canyon in Sicilian).
Cava Misericordia
Day 2: Food&Wine Adventure
What is a typical Sunday breakfast for people from Ragusa? It’s going to a dairy farm and eating hot ricotta cheese with bread. I highly recommend skipping your hotel breakfast and discovering this tradition instead. If you want to see the laborious process of ricotta making, make sure you arrive at the dairy farm early, around 9:00 am.
And afterward, you could discover the secrets of Monti Iblei PDO olive oil, enjoying a walk among centuries-old olive oil trees and visiting an olive oil mill in the Chiaramonte Gulfi area. Here you will learn how to taste different qualities of this green gold.
What do you think about a light lunch at a winery to end this tour? Book one of the Cerasuolo of Vittoria wineries to appreciate all the nuances of this DOCG red wine.
Relax, enjoy, and join one of our food & wine experts during the Along the Hyblaeans paths of flavors tour.
Finally, if you're a foodie, you can’t miss tasting and revisiting all of these products with a Michelin-starred chef in Ragusa, experiencing an unforgettable dinner: Ciccio Sultano (Il Duomo), and Vincenzo Candiano (Locanda Don Serafino).
Day 3: Modica (UNESCO) and Scicli (UNESCO)
Are you more interested in Baroque heritage or food traditions? No matter! Both Modica and Scicli will satisfy your curiosity.
Option A: Enjoy a morning tour in one of these two cities, and then discover the coast and its fishing villages in the afternoon. You could reach Donnalucata, Marina di Ragusa, or Punta Secca if you are a big fan of the Montalbano Inspector’s series and Cammilleri’s books.
Option B: Visit Modica and Scicli on a full-day trip. Park your car near Modica’s bus station (Corso Umberto I, 470), follow the street behind Baricentro café, and reach the mighty facade of San Giorgio Duomo. After visiting this amazing church, step along the alleys and stairs taking you down to the church of San Pietro and the rock-cut Church of San Nicolò Inferiore, a real hidden medieval gem in the middle of the baroque city center.
If you enjoy walking, you can join an urban walk from the Belvedere di San Benedetto down to the main street and up again to Modica Alta, which will take you to a less trodden part of the city for extraordinary views.
Modica is also the right place to explore some traditional food: choose between Ricotta&co (Corso Umberto I, 261) or the lesser-known Trattoria Il Girasole (Str. Mercè, 63): try the “scacce” - traditional durum wheat pastries from Ragusa area stuffed with vegetables or tomato sauce and cheese. If you have reached Modica Alta, you can also have lunch at “Da Fabio” (via Botta 97).
For dessert, you can visit some Modica chocolate shops in the city center or drink coffee and taste the “mpanatigghi”, typical biscuits from Modica: the test to pass is understanding what hidden ingredient makes these biscuits so famous…
Panoramic view of Modica
In the afternoon, go to Scicli. The old town center is charming, and you can easily enjoy a walking tour to discover the main highlights. But if you are looking for hidden gems and spots to take an unforgettable photo, you must climb up to the San Matteo Church and enjoy a sunset view. Otherwise, you can drive up to the Convento della Croce and cherish an astonishing view of the Grotte di Chiafura, a rupestrian settlement inhabited until 1959.
Check the opening times here because they change quite frequently.
Panoramic view of Chiafura in Scicli
So, all you need to do is list Ragusa among the destinations for your journey in Sicily and write to US to get further advice about things to do in Ragusa, Modica, and Scicli that you might enjoy. Our experts can’t wait to guide you on a special tailor-made tour in Ragusa and its surroundings!