About a few km away from the Agrigento-Palermo national road (S.S. 121-189), on a gypsiferous and sulphurous upland, 580 m above sea level, stands Sutera, an ancient town overlooking the hills below and the river Platani valley. It clustered round a 823 m high mountain, a superb pyramidal rock which in the past was the main shelter and defence for the town. Thanks to its particular geographical position, Sutera has been called in different ways:  Subtilissima, for its healthy climate, and The balcony of western Sicily, because from the top of its mountain you can admire a wonderful landscape over 24 towns, from Etna to the sea of Agrigento.

Situated in the heart of Sicily, Sutera boasts ancient origins and many legends about it: they say it was founded by Daedalus with the name Camico, after he fled Crete. From then Sutera was ruled by several foreign peoples, who chose it because of its impregnable position, as several discoveries in the territory testify: its Byzantine chapel, its “Sicane” caverns, its Arabic quarters, Rabato and Rabatello, its Norman quarter, Giardinello, its medieval churches and palaces. In Sutera you can find also most works of art and valuable objects in the province of Caltanissetta, such as the silver urns containing SS. Paolino and Onofrio’s relics and dating back to 1500 and 1600, which are kept in the church on the top of the mountain.

Sutera is also the country of Francesco Salamone, one of the thirteen knights taking part in the well-known “Disfida di Barletta”, a challenge between Italians and French knights in 1503. You can visit the ruins of his castle and his family vaults in the Carmine church. The geological structure of Sutera is very interesting because you can find karstic phenomena and caverns still unexplored. Furthermore, in the surroundings of the town there are a lot of archaeological sites and necropolis.

Thanks to the central position of Sutera, you can reach important Sicilian centres, such as Agrigento and its Temples (30 min), Palermo (60 min), the Madonie Natural Park, Etna (90 min), and the other little towns in the Platani valley, (Mussomeli, Milena, Cammarata, ecc).

            Sutera and the other towns in the Platani valley are the backdrop for many cultural and artistic events, such as the living Christmas crib in Sutera, where the ancient Sicilian trades and customs are performed, or the Holy Week rites in Mussomeli, San Cataldo and Montedoro, with the typical processions and lamentations of Arabic-Norman origin. 

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