Scalinata artistica (artistic bustard) - Sciacca

The Scalinata artistica or artistic staircase in the port area of Sciacca, a city of skilled ceramists known all over the world, has become a tourist attraction .

Thanks to a recent renovation involving local artists, it has become one large coastal work . A staircase that, to avoid the excessive slope, was constructed from zigzag stairs using a clever strategy. A clever idea that today, with its multicolored majolica tiles , is a gem among the narrow streets where old houses and monuments speak Arabic and Norman.

In the city of ceramics, the material could certainly not be missing, and so the colorful majolica tiles have given an invaluable light and dignity to this corner, the place most photographed by tourists. Walking down those stairs is like entering a studio , it is bathing in art.

A zigzag up and down that is good for both the eyes and the heart. A unique attraction in the port area, in the Marinai district. A neighborhood full of sounds and voices during the day, a treasure chest full of colors and lots of art and passion, when night falls and the lights in the houses are turned on, casting glances and sparkles over the clear waters of the port of Sciacca.

Born for commercial purposes, when mules and carts could not descend safely due to the slope being too great, full of grain and other goods that they had to transfer to the ships moored in the port, today that staircase is a jewel, a work of art . How to turn necessity into a virtue! And this is a great example!

Willem Vandenameele