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Hearty foods of the interior, including lamb, pork ribs and carefully selected local sausage, cheese and wines.

The Valley of the Temples was the heart of one of the most important cities in the ancient world and is a prime example of the magnificence of Magna Graecia (see Agrigento and the Valle dei Templi).

Take a late afternoon drive from Sciacca up to Caltabellotta . Skip the modern outskirts of town to wander around the narrow streets and piazzettas of Terravecchia, the old medieval centre. Terravecchia lies on a flat plain under the Chiesa Madre founded by Count Roger one year before he took Palermo (see Norman Palermo). It’s newly restored, so admire the entry portal with pointed arch and the bell tower which was originally an old Arabic fortification; inside see the Madonna of the Chain, St Benedict and Madonna and Child – all works by the artist Gagini.

To the north of the church take the little path up the rock to the ruins of the Castelvecchio, the old castle, from which you can look down on Caltabellotta and out over the valley.

On the other side of the plain, opposite the Chiesa Madre, find the tiny church of San Salvatore with its zig-zag decoration around the door. Use the steps carved out of the rock to climb up to the highest point of Monte Castello. Walk around the ruins of Count Roger’s castle, with its single Gothic doorway, and take in one of the most stunning views in Sicily. To the southwest see the coastline from Agrigento (see Agrigento and the Valle dei Templi) to Marsala .

Back in town, stroll from Piazza Umberto I to via Roma in the newer part of the village, where you can have an excellent dinner of mountain fare at the Trattoria Ferla (see Trattoria dei Templi, Agrigento).

The Abbey of the Holy Spirit was founded around 1090 by Count Roger and his wife, Adelasia, and consecrated in 1153. It is one of the few Romanesque Norman buildings to remain intact. The exterior is unadorned except for the portals and the small, triple apse articulated with tall, narrow arcading. The interior contains 14th- and 15th-century frescoes and an dedicatory inscription dating from 1153 in the apse.

This tiny village, 950 m (3,100 ft) above sea level, has a lovely medieval centre. In 1090, the already fortified village was taken from the Arabs by the Norman king Count Roger, who built the Chiesa Madre and fortified the now ruined castle. It was in this castle in 1194 that William III, heir to the Norman throne, and his mother were imprisoned and probably murdered by Emperor Henry VI; it was also the site of the signing of the 1302 peace treaty between Frederick II of Aragón and Charles of Valois, putting an end to the Sicilian Vespers (see The Sicilian Vespers).

Traditional ceramics are still made in various centres, notably Sciacca where the designs are in green, yellow and blue.

A country restaurant set in a former monastery with tasty, hearty fare, including wood oven-baked bread, local cheeses and olive oil.

In and around Corleone, several co-operatives under the umbrella Libera Terra cultivate land confiscated from mafia bosses to create jobs and strengthen the economy of the area. Wheat is grown for pasta, grapes for wine, as well as fruits, cheeses and honey.

Vast expanses of rolling terrain are planted with wheat, vines, olives and silvery blue artichokes. Colours pop up here and there amid the green, such as a large swathe of crimson sulla, bright red poppies and hearty yellow fennel growing impossibly tall (see Il Corleonese).

In 1954 crude oil was discovered off the coast of Gela. An offshore platform, port and jetty were built, and within a decade Gela was equipped with a petro-chemical plant for refining domestic and imported oil.