Inspector Montalbano: Vigàta in Ragusa

Inspector Salvo Montalbano is in charge of the state police station in Vigàta, a fictional town. On screen, his offices are in Scicli, as are those of Commissioner Bonetti-Alderighi, which are actually the mayor's. Scicli's Town Hall is one of several buildings in the town with Baroque decorations. The series is set in Vigàta, based on Camilleri's native Porto Empedocle, but Scicli gives the police station its screen face.

場所の精度: The sources place the offices in Scicli's town hall area but name no exact address; the pin marks the town centre.

訪問のヒント: Scicli's old centre can be explored on foot; the Town Hall is among its Baroque buildings.

Montalbano swims from the beach by his home, and many scenes of that home are set in a house backing onto the sand at Punta Secca. The village gained renown as the fictional Marinella. It has a lighthouse, a small port and an old watchtower, the Torre Scalambri, dating from the 16th century and standing next to the harbour.

場所の精度: The sources do not name the house; the pin marks the village near the Torre Scalambri.

訪問のヒント: The village has a small port and beach; the Torre Scalambri stands next to the harbour.

The brickyard of Fornace Penna was built in 1909 in the locality of Pisciotto, near Sampieri. In the series it appears under the fictional name Mànnara, and it is filmed in several episodes. The exteriors of la Mànnara were shot here, on the coast, so a ruined industrial site stands in for a place Montalbano's cases keep returning to.

訪問のヒント: A coastal ruin; view it from outside.

Much of the series is filmed in Ragusa, and the filming is credited with a rise in tourism in recent years. The old quarter, Ragusa Ibla, is a star of the screen. Its Baroque church of San Giorgio, begun in 1738 by architect Rosario Gagliardi, is a central landmark of the quarter.

場所の精度: Filming takes place throughout Ragusa Ibla; the pin marks the Duomo of San Giorgio as a central landmark.

訪問のヒント: Ibla is best walked; the Duomo of San Giorgio is a good starting point.

Various scenes of the series were shot on the terrace and in the park of Donnafugata Castle, one of the Ragusa locations, with Ragusa Ibla and Modica, where the series is filmed. Most of the present appearance of the building dates from the 19th century.

訪問のヒント: Check opening hours before visiting the castle and park.

The series opens with sweeping shots that include the Guerrieri Viaduct in Modica. The bridge is 538 metres long and rises up to 134 metres above the valley floor. Its approach makes a dramatic first glimpse of the south-eastern Sicily where much of the series is filmed.

訪問のヒント: Look for the viaduct from Modica and the valley below.