ISPICA private tour: Stunning town of baroque architecture in the land of Montalbano

The guided tour of Ispica will introduce you to this small Sicilian town that has become popular thanks to the TV series “Il Commissario Montalbano”, a character created by the writer Andrea Camilleri, who attracts many fans and onlookers to the symbolic places of the town where many scenes have been shot. It starts with a visit to the religious building symbol of Ispica, the beautiful Basilica of S. Maria Maggiore built in the 18th century in late Baroque and Rococo style, rich in statues, frescoed domes, stuccos and precious paintings by the painter Sozzi, among the most appreciated of the Sicilian eighteenth century who was buried in the same church he frescoed.

We will visit the characteristic Christ at the Column, the statue of the scourged Christ tied to a column with a suffering face, which is carried in procession by his faithful on Holy Thursday. The Basilica, a national monument in 1908, is embellished by an elegant loggia that surrounds it, designed by the architect Sinatra who was already the author of the church, with 23 arches and inspired by the loggia that embraces St. Peter’s in Rome. The tour continues walking through the alleys of the historic center rebuilt after the terrible earthquake of 1693 that destroyed the town, where we can admire the liberty-style building Palazzo Bruno di Belmonte.

The elegant building, now the Town Hall and built at the beginning of the twentieth century by Bruno who wanted to bring his whole family together in a single building, is embellished with two corner towers, decorations in polychrome majolica and floral bas-reliefs made with the stone of the nearby Modica, a true artistic masterpiece that dominates one of the most important streets of Ispica.

The guided tour ends at the Basilica of the Santissima Annunziata with its splendid stuccos and decorations in late Baroque style and the wooden sculpture of Christ with the Cross.

Included:

• Walking tour with licensed tour guide

Not included:

• Food and drinks
• Museum tickets (optional)
• Transfer service

What to bring:

• Comfortable shoes
• Water
• Sun hat on hot days

Meeting point:

• Entrance to the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore (Via XX Settembre)