RagusaChiaramonte Gulfi.
Bronze Age settlements (Castelluccio culture, l800-1400 BC) have been found in the territory. A Sicel centre developed towards the end of the 8th c., on the Monte Castiglione plateau. This may be the ancient Acrille, which was destroyed by Hippocrates of Gela two centuries later. Many of the local finds are kept in the Regional Archaeological Museum in Ragusa. The foundation of the modem town, by Manfred I Chiaromonte, dates from the early l6th c.; it was populated by the inhabitants of Gulfi, an ancient town further down the valley which was destroyed by the Angevins in l299 during the War of the Sicilian Vespers. Chiaramonte was an important strategic centre throughout the 16th c., and it expanded in the l7th c.; in the l8th c., as the nearby town of Vittoria began to develop, its prosperity began to wane. Nowadays it thrives on agriculture, handicraft and tourism. The spelling Chiaramonte used for the name of the town differs from that ofthe founder Chiaromonte.

The Chiesa Madre, Santa Maria la Nova, rises in the main square. Built in l536, it was several times altered in successive centuries: the façade exhibits a mixture of l6th c. and baroque features. It contains the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament and a multicoloured marble altar, both noteworthy. The Convent and the Chiesa della Madonna del Gesù are in the Piano dei Cappuccini in the older part of the town. The Chiesa del Salva:tore, in the square of the same name, once had a nave and two aisles but has been a single hall-church since alterations carried out in 1730. It has a fine Gaginesque portaI and a Rosary Chapel. The statue of the Redeemer is attributed to Giuliano Mancino and to Bartolomeo Berrettaro. Another Rosary Chapel, in Gagini style, can be seen in the Chiesa di San Filippo, with an alabaster statue of the 18th c. Madonna del Rosario. Only a few fragments remain of the ancient walls of the city: the arch of Our Lady of Assumption was part of the defensive system. Nearby is the Chiesetta dell'Annunziata, which used to be the Chiesa Madre. The Chiaromonte Castle is now semidestroyed. To the back of it is the Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista, rebuilt after the l693 earthquake, with baroque stylistic features; the painting of the Madonna and Child is attributed to Vito D'Anna. A few kilometres from the town is the Santuario della Madonna di Gulfi. This sanctuary already existed in the early Christian age; destroyed and rebuilt, we now see it as it was restored in the 17th c.