Discover Vittoria: History, Garden Spaces and Wine

Vittoria combines a founding history dating back to 1607 with theatre architecture, a historic centre, garden spaces and winegrowing. The city encompasses different scales: individual buildings, a public garden, the transition to the Valle dell’Ippari, agricultural areas and local wineries. Culture, landscape and regional products are thus clearly interconnected.

Foundation and Historic Centre

Vittoria was founded in 1607 by Vittoria Colonna Henriquez Cabrera. The so-called Castello was the first building in the new Terra di Vittoria. The Church of San Giovanni Battista is located in the heart of Vittoria’s historic centre.

Teatro Comunale Vittoria Colonna

The Teatro Comunale Vittoria Colonna stands in Piazza del Popolo. The neoclassical theatre is attached to the late Baroque Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Inside, it has a horseshoe-shaped auditorium with four tiers of boxes and around 380 seats. This theatre allows its architectural form and performance history to be considered together.

The Teatro Comunale Vittoria Colonna was inaugurated on 10 June 1877 with Giuseppe Verdi’s opera La forza del destino. The connection between the neoclassical theatre and the late Baroque church remains legible in the same building.

Villa Comunale and Valle dell’Ippari

The Villa Comunale di Vittoria was inaugurated as a public garden in 1933. Its monumental Scalinata dell’Ascesa leads to the upper part of the garden. For orientation within the area, the transition from the upper part of the garden to the Valle dell’Ippari provides a concrete spatial reference.

From the Boschetto of the Villa Comunale di Vittoria, visitors can reach the Valle dell’Ippari. The Scalinata dell’Ascesa and the access route from the Boschetto describe two different directions within the grounds: one upwards into the garden, the other into the valley area.

Belvedere and Cultural Landscape

From the Belvedere in Vittoria, the view extends over vineyards, greenhouses and olive groves to the horizon. The view thus brings together winegrowing, covered cultivation areas and olive cultivation within a visible landscape. The view from the Belvedere provides a concrete starting point for observing Vittoria’s agriculturally shaped landscape.

In Vittoria, tomatoes, courgettes, peppers, aubergines and salads are grown under transparent coverings. For observing the cultural landscape, the vineyards, covered cultivation areas and olive groves are therefore all part of the same field of view.

Cerasuolo di Vittoria and Tastings

Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG is the only Sicilian wine with a controlled and guaranteed designation of origin. It is a blend of Nero d’Avola and Frappato.

Local wineries in Vittoria offer tastings among vineyards and masserie. Tastings among vineyards and masserie give the wine tradition a rural setting without disconnecting it from the city’s agriculture. For wine enthusiasts, the blend of two grape varieties is thus combined with tastings at wineries among vineyards and masserie.

More Destinations for Orientation

More destinations for orientation: Modica, Campanella-gianforma, Punta Braccetto, Ispica, Michelica, Cava D'aliga, Gilestra Ii and Pozzallo.

For the higher-level travel overview: Ragusa.