From Pirandello, to Tomasi di Lampedusa, via Sciascia and Camilleri

The Road of the Writers is an itinerary that invites travelers to tour the places in Sicily that Sicilian writers have described in their novels, pages of literature and theater that have captivated several generations. The route is officially known as Highway 640 in Porto Empedocle. The first stage takes up what are the lands recounted by Andrea Camilleri. Between Vigàta and Montelusa are places between the hill of Agrigento and the sea. Camilleri himself says that Vigàta is Porto Empedocle, but since it is located near Licata, he found a similar name that sounded good as precisely Vigàta. Montelusa, on the other hand, is Agrigento, and the name is inspired by Pirandello, who also called the city of Girgenti Montelusa. We continue to Palma di Montechiaro, a place that is linked to the writer of “The Leopard,” Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. In this city one of his ancestors found love in Francesca Caro, who won him the title of Baron of Montechiaro in 1583: the writer Giuseppe Tomasi in this place rediscovered his roots and it is in Palma that the protagonist, Prince Don Fabrizio di Salina is about to court death.

Palma di Montechiaro was also decisive because it was here that Giuseppe Tomasi overcame the Writer’s Block that would not let him finish his best-known novel, precisely “The Leopard.” Continuing on to Agrigento, the birthplace of Luigi Pirandello, it is possible to visit the birthplace of the Nobel Prize-winning writer in Contrada Caos. Inside the mansion are temporary exhibitions dedicated to the Maestro and a museum with the Luigi Pirandello Library.

Inland, an obligatory stop is Racalmuto where Leonardo Sciascia was born, certainly remembered for the detective story “I giorni della Civetta” but not only. Here in Sicily you can find the places that marked his life including the Matrix that glimpses the steps of the church of S. Maria del Monte, a church where the funeral was held in 1989. The birthplace of Sciascia and his aunts is right next to this church, and not far away you will be able to find the Regina Margherita Municipal Theater where the author used to go to attend show screenings on Saturdays and Sundays. Just outside the town are the caves of Fra Diego la Matina, the tombs of the friar mentioned by Sciascia in his most important essay “Death of the Inquisitor.”