Ragusa, Sicilia, Via Scala

Ragusa is a town of extreme geography, the hillit occupies rises over 300m. It is one of the towns in eaten Sicily that was reconstructed after a devastating earthquake in 1693. This was the height of Renaissance and Renaissance urban planning. Most of the important buildings therefore date to about 1700. After the earthquake most of the population moved over to the next hill and started anew.  However, a stalwart bunch remained in the old wrecked city and rebuilt it. It is known as Ragusa Ilba. This set of stairs that climbs the top 200m or so shows why. Blue guy got to the top first as usual. A lot of the town is empty and for sale. A great deal of restoration took place over the last decade but one ofthe main churches at the top,  Santa Maria delle Scala, is unfinished and shrouded in torn up construction screen on rusted scaffolding.  The Palazzo Zacco has these great cartoonish characters on its facade a characteristic of the late Renaissance architecture in Sicily.