Sciacca

However you pronounce the name Sciacca, it sounds like music. Indeed, the musical charm of a place that has clung dramatically for centuries to a rock mass facing out and appearing to rush head first into the Mediterranean sea does not go unnoticed. Sciacca has always been an outpost on the archaeological trail from Selinunte to Agrigento. Or rather, it has been a gateway which invaders have passed through: Greeks, Carthaginians, Aragonese and Byzantines have all left their enduring mark here as well as in the Valle dei Bagni, site of one of the original thermal spas found in abundance here. Sciacca certainly recalls the readiness of popular song, but can also be tainted with the romanticism of serenades intoned at sunset under round-railed balconies with musicians playing in the shade of majestic portals and obscure buildings. In the background lies the magnificent Valley of Temples: a scenario of immense inspiring sacredness today ‘protected’ with the status of a Unesco World heritage site. The most evocative moment to walk through the magnificent valley is when the light of dusk mixes with the intense colours of the sunset; the perfect time to visit the valley and experience the magic of the pathway that leads to the amazing Temple of Concordia and the temples dedicated to Juno and Hercules.