Grand Hotel delle Terme, Sciacca
Sciacca gave Sicily’s oldest cure a modern home between 1928 and 1938 — a Liberty thermal complex in a hillside park, crowned by the Grand Hotel delle Terme above the sea.
At a glance
Sciacca is the oldest thermal resort in Sicily, its sulphur springs and steam caves used since antiquity. Between 1928 and 1938 the town gave the cure a grand new setting: a Liberty thermal complex laid out in a park in the Cammordino district, with the Grand Hotel delle Terme as its centrepiece. Local tradition counts it among the finest twentieth-century buildings in the town.
Key facts
- Built: 1928–1938
- Style: Liberty (Italian Art Nouveau)
- Setting: a park in the Cammordino district, above the sea
- Part of: the new thermal establishment of Sciacca
- Status: the historic baths have faced closures; the hotel continues to operate
History
Sciacca’s thermal waters — sulphurous springs and the natural steam caves of Monte Kronio — made it the oldest spa in Sicily, known to Greeks and Romans. By the early twentieth century the old baths needed replacing.
Between 1928 and 1938 a new thermal complex was built in Liberty style, set in a garden in the Cammordino district on the edge of the town, with the Grand Hotel delle Terme looking out to the Mediterranean. Locally it is remembered as one of Sciacca’s most ambitious twentieth-century buildings.
The Terme di Sciacca have had a difficult recent history, with closures and changes of management; the Grand Hotel delle Terme has continued to operate as a hotel.
What you see
A long Liberty front on the hillside above Sciacca, its terraces and gardens facing the sea. The composition is symmetrical and restrained, with the ornament concentrated at the entrance and the roofline.
The hotel sits within the wider thermal park, and the sea view is part of the design.
Practical information
- The Grand Hotel delle Terme operates as a hotel; the thermal baths’ status varies
- The terrace and gardens command a sea view
- Sciacca’s old town and the Monte Kronio steam caves are nearby
- Allow 20 minutes
Getting there
Sciacca is on the south-western coast of Sicily, in the province of Agrigento. By car it is about an hour from Agrigento and an hour and three-quarters from Palermo or Trapani airports; buses serve the town from Agrigento and Palermo.
Nearby
- The old town of Sciacca and its churches
- Monte Kronio and the steam caves (Stufe di San Calogero)
- The fishing harbour
Sources
- Comune di Sciacca
- Catalogo dei beni culturali — città termali
- Touring Club Italiano — Sicilia
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