Scicli was an
indomitable and victorious town. On March 1091 there was
the event which mostly marked the proud and rebel soul of
this little town, one of the most beautiful baroque towns
in the area of the Hyblaean mountains. The Saracen army,
previously defeated by the Norma Scicli a town of art, nature and landscapes…. Scicli is a spectacular town,
made of artistic spaces cut on the rock and of light and
shade effects, where nature, landscapes and art in
churches and palaces mix together into uncommon and
beautiful contrasts. From the top of the hill where onc Casmene, Sicla or Siclis? There are numerous theories on
the very ancient origins of Scicli. The most reliable one
is related to the history of other nearby towns where
traces of settlements of the ancient inhabitants of
Sicily, the Siculi, have been brought to light. The name
Scicli would co From the Hill to the Valley (XIV – XVI) It is a pretty singular event
that a town moves to the valley from a hill. Surely, it
took very long to the ancient inhabitants of Scicli, more
than one century, to complete this passage; the new urban
settlement was born in the plain below the church as
hamlets. Leaving the Hill of San Matteo, named after the
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ns, landed on the plain which today is
called "Milici"; The inhabitants of Scicli
armed with their strength, their enthusiasm, all together
managed to defeat the invaders. It was the only Hyblaean
town which was able to drive the Saracens out, though
they were much more numerous and armed to the teeth. Each
year this victorious battle is commemorated on the last
Sunday of June in a spectacular feast called
"Madonna delle Milizie". This is one of the
most meaningful feasts in Sicily, the most suggestive
atmosphere of the struggle between Christians and
Saracens is recreated; popular actors in period costumes
and old weapons act in the streets recalling the most
important moments of that battle. In the place where the
battle took place was built the small church of the Madonna
dei Milici; in fact according to religious popular
belief it was the Madonna who gave this proud town and
the Normans led by the Earl Ruggero the strength and the
impulse of the divine to defend themselves against the
Saracens not to become a conquered land. 
e stood the
old town, the Church of San Matteo stands out on the
horizon and with its old wooden clock dominates the town.
The ruins of a castle, attributed to the Greek age, are
still standing; two underground passages are supposed to
lead off this fortress erected to defend the town but
they have never been found. This castle defended the town
even in the dark age when the raids of Barbarians,
Vandals and Goths destroyed Sicily after the fall of the
Roman Empire and the Byzantine domination. The
inhabitants of this land showed their pride in 827 too,
when Ragusa and other towns were invaded by Arabs. Scicli
resisted for decades to a long siege. Today like in the
previous ages the hill of San Matteo can be reached only
through stairs, since there are no streets in the old
quarter. On the top there are still the burial grounds
which have been found in other areas.
me from "Siclis" that is
Siculi. There is also the great myth of Casmene, an
ancient town disappeared almost like Atlantis but other
towns like Comiso have the right to think of being the
descendants of the old Greek Syracusan colony. So this
hypothesis is less reliable, especially for the
geographical position of Scicli situated toward the
inland. In the territory of Scicli, in some areas like
Maulli, near the Irminio river, archaeological
settlements have been brought to light. Not very far from
the mouth of the river some fragments of worked pointed
tools and ruins of villages attributed to the Greek age
have been found. These findings would confirm the theory
of trades taking place along the banks of the Irminio
river. During the Hellenic age, Sicli, Motuka and
Ceretanum defended many times Camarina in its battles
against Syracuse. Some Carthaginian ruins have also been
found in this territory. The last theory is related to
the Roman age and to Marcellus consul, according to some
historians he wanted Sicla to be founded as the mint of
Sicily. Like Modica, Scicli was included among the
decuman towns and obliged to pay the tenth part of its
riches to the Roman Empire. The Arabs called it Sikla.
Like in other parts of Sicily the town grew economically
stronger and learned new agricultural techniques which
allowed her to be rich and thriving. The Swabians reigned
after the Normans but it was under the Angevins that the
rebel soul of this people rose up again. With the
Sicilian Vespers rebellion on April 5th 1282,
Scicli managed to get free from French domination and
passed under the protection of Pietro D’Aragona. A
later raid of the Angevins in Scicli could not defeat the
warrior spirit of people who where used to defend their
town even against much more powerful invaders. 
nymous
church, did not bring luck. The seventeenth century was
the most terrible one because of plague, grasshoppers and
family struggles which very only some of the numerous
tragic events which marked the dark century of the town.
The earthquake of 1693 inflicted the mortal blow on the
town which was completely destroyed. From the ruins, a
splendid baroque town was born and today it is a jewel
with a restless but shining past.