Within the rest area is the Hoffmann Museum, a former brick factory featuring an immersive multimedia room that tells the story of the “Conadomini” brick kiln. The restaurant and pizzeria are also open from Thursday through Saturday.

Caltagirone is the main urban center of the Calatino area and is located at the crossroads between eastern and central Sicily, overlooking the plains of Catania and Gela. Historically, it was part of the Val di Noto and is the capital of the Calatino district. It has been nicknamed “Urbs Gratissima” (the most pleasant city) and “Queen of the Erei Mountains.” It is famous for its traditional pottery production and today is an important agricultural and tourist center, as well as one of the largest municipalities in the Sicilian hinterland, second only to Caltanissetta in central Sicily.Caltagirone, along with seven other towns in the Val di Noto (including Militello Val di Catania, Catania, Modica, Noto, Palazzolo Acreide, Ragusa, and Scicli), is part of the group of late Baroque towns designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002.

Strolling through Caltagirone is like visiting an open-air museum, with its streets lined with artisans’ shops—full of wonders—that can be found on practically every street in the city. The architecture is often adorned with beautiful ceramics, such as the famous staircase of Santa Maria del Monte, the San Francesco Bridge, the municipal park, palaces, and churches.

THE LEGEND OF THE MOORISH HEADS

According to legend, around 1100, during the Arab rule in Sicily, a beautiful girl from Palermo was tending to her plants on her balcony. One day, a young Moor (an Arab) saw her and fell in love with her. The girl returned his love, but when she discovered that he would soon leave her to return to his wife in the East, her passion turned to rage. She waited until the Moor fell asleep and cut off his head, turning it into a pot for her basil. That way, he would never be able to leave her again. From then on, the tradition of creating pots shaped like a Moor’s head began, and pots with feminine features were also added to the collection.