Prespi Viventi, or living Christmas cribs in various places throughout the region, notably the cava d’Ispica and Pozzallo.

February

Carnival is celebrated at Modica and numerous other towns in the Iblea.

A Celebration of Sausages takes place at Chiaramonte Gulfi

Noto celebrates San Corrado on the 19th.

March

Various towns celebrate San Giuseppe, (Father’s Day)

April

Modica hosts a  festival of chocolate for which the town has become famous.  It is a granular chocolate, made with unrefined sugar and often is laced with peppers.

Easter sees the festival of the Madonna ‘Vasa Vasa’ at Modica, one of the most picturesque and oldest celebrations in the region.  Ragusa hosts processions throughout Holy Week, and Ispica has a Christ on the Column procession on Holy Thursday.  Scicli has its own ‘Uomo Vivo’

Modica has San Giorgio on April 23 with the procession and fireworks on the nearest Sunday

May

Sampieri (Scicli) has a tomato festival, Noto hosts the ‘infiorita’ where the streets are covered in flowers. Scicli itself has a historical pageant to commemorate a battle of 1091between the Saracens and the Christians, while Modica hosts the festival of Ricotta.

June

Saint Peter is Modica’s patron saint and is celebrated in June with a fair and processions.

From June to September the treno barocco train service runs from Siracusa to Ragusa (via Noto, Modica and Scicli), through some of the most beautiful Sicilian countryside.

San Giovanni is hosted at Pozzallo with a boat display and fireworks, Donnalucata has a festival of cheese, while Ragusa has an international piano festival.  Ispica has a celebration of the not so humble carrot.

July to September

Summer in the region is not wholly based at the beach as in so many areas of Italy.  Ragusa hosts a month long festival, ‘Ragusa Ibla’ with plays, cabaret and music throughout the region.  The Marinas of Modica and Ragusa play host to concerts and spectaculars while in Modica itself there is a season of concerts and outdoor music.  The ‘viaggi sentimentali’ includes plays and cultural events in the centro storico.  In early August Modica has the Giostra dei Chiaramonte, a joust in historical costume in the historical centre. It is usually the 2nd Sunday in August.

Caltagirone hosts the steps of light at the end of July/beginning of august

Giarratana hosts a festival of the onion,  Pozzallo has fish, Chiaramonte focaccia, bread in Monterosso and the Sicilian cannolo has its own sagra in Scoglitti.

The Val di Noto has a large summer festival with opera, dance and concerts with the participation of world famous singers.

August 29th is the Saint John the Baptist and he is celebrated at Ragusa as the patron saint with fireworks and processions.   Further afield August sees the saints day of Agrigento, San Calogero who is celebrated with the throwing of bread rolls and a huge fireworks display.

September

A ‘Goodbye to ModicaSummer’ festival at Marina di Ragusa, while Ragusa itself hosts a fiera celebrating local crafts and products.   has a festival of the carruba, the basis of the local chocolate, and other towns celebrate the grape harvest.

October

A Buskers street festival in Ragusa.  Scicli hosts an international road race.

November

Ragusa has the sagra della frittella.. a celebration of local produce.

December

Living presepi throughout the region, a series of concerts and a cinema festival in Ragusa.

 Further afield, Siracusa celebrates its patron saint Santa Lucia with a week long series of processions and fireworks.

Christmas begins with the Immacolata on 8th December when the street illuminations are switched on.