South-West Sicily travel guide, tourism and highlights

Visit South-West Sicily

The south-western part of Sicily follows along the coast either side of Agrigento, and heads inland (and uphill) onto the high plateau that includes Piazza Armerina.

The south-west of Sicily is the area with the least sites and is the least visited. Non the less it does contain a couple of the highlights of a trip to Sicily, notably the Valley of the Temples and the Villa Romana del Casale.

The highlight at Agrigento is the extraordinary Valley of the Temples. This valley has lots of temples scattered throughout its length and some are in quite good condition. This is a very impressive site and not to be missed if you are in the South West of Sicily.

Heading south-east to Gela you can discover some of the finest monuments from Ancient Greek occupation of the island to be found on Sicily, then to Comiso to see the castle of the Naselli

The mosaics at the Villa Romana del Casale in Piazza Armerina are an incredible sight, and cover a very extensive floor area in what was once one of the grandest villas in Sicily.

Beaches and coast

The south-west coast includes some of the best beaches along the Sicily coast - though with a bit too much development in places. Try the coast around Realmonte for some of the highlights including the popular Scala dei Turchi beach.

The beaches near Gela are among the best - many of the beaches tend to be quieter in this part of Sicily than in the more visited regions.

For some of the most impressive coastline you might continue towards Africa with a visit to the Pelagie Islands - especially well known to deep-sea diving enthusiasts because of the clear seas and the wide range of creatures that can be seen in the sea. The main island is Lampedusa, the other two are Linosa and Lampione.