Flower pottery staircase show event
Images were taken by myself on May 2012 in the Sicilian town of Caltagirone, situated only 68 kilometers from Catania, with the intention of attracting the attention of potential tourists from the rest of Italy and also from abroad onto this event, in the hope of motivating them to come and see the following year’s Flower Show and to visit the town hosting it, Caltagirone, which is famous for its traditional ceramic pottery .

The town’s churches, monuments, and almost every corner of it are covered with ceramic tiles locally produced.
The very Scala di Santa Maria del Monte (the 142-step staircase which is the site of the annual Flower Show) is masterfully covered in decorated ceramics.
The reason for this unique display it’s a tribute to the one of many versions of the Madonna, namely, ‘Our Lady of Conadomini’ venerated in the Catholic religion as the Mother of Jesus but probably having its roots (like most events which combine religious inspiration with popular traditions) in some pagan tradition as well.

People from all around the world come to Caltagirone on this occasion. Lately, we have started to see some Japanese tourists in Caltagirone (but also in the Baroque town of Noto (another Unesco human heritage site) and in Syracuse (a town rich with vestiges of the Ancient Greek civilization).

Sicily, over the years, have seen an increased level of tourism from all over the world.
This is a sign that with good and constructive promotion far-reaching results can be achieved.

At least 2000 plants are used, depending on the design patterns.
In 2014 the the flower pottered staircase show will take place from april 30h all may till june the 4th, as usually about a month.