Sciacca
Just ten minutes away, Sciacca is the nearest town to Verdura. It is a seaside town famous for its lovely views over the Mediterranean, its fishing port and for its medieval town centre that contains several notable churches, castles and piazzas. It was known in Greek and Roman times for its thermal springs, but developed more substantially in the ninth and tenth centuries, when it exported the island’s grain to Africa. Its modern port unloads more than 5000 tons of fish each year. The most practiced catch is the Blue fish, like anchovies and sardines that, can be tasted in Sciacca’s many delicious fish restaurants. Every February the town attracts people from all over Italy for its Carnival, one of the biggest in the country and a dazzling parade of colourful costumes and giant papier-maché figures.
Caltabellotta
Inland from Sciacca, just twenty five minutes from the Resort, this historic hill-town offers panoramic views across to Agrigento and Mount Etna. The twenty cave burials at the entrance to Caltabellotta immediately inform one of the prehistoric origin of the place. Sicans, Phenicians, Greeks, Romans and Arabs and plenty of others did not succeed in resisting the charm of its site and its abundance of land and water, and here they left living, important traces of history and culture. And for those who love architectural works Caltabellotta includes the small Church of St. Maria della Pieta, partly built into the rock face, and the Church of St. Augustine, built in 1335. Other sites include the former Church of St. Lorenzo (now only visible in part) with its imposing Gothic portal, and the Church of St. Pellegrino with the nearby Convent of the Middle Ages.
Ribera
Just a fifteen minute drive away from Verdura, 200 metres above sea level, Ribera stretches like a terrace across the Seccagrande coast. Ribera is famous for its delicious oranges, now known and in demand all over the world. Along with magnificent orange orchards, there are equally beautiful olive groves. Architecturally, must-see sights include the ruins of Poggiodiana Castle and the Town Hall in the Cathedral Square.