Luigi Pirandello (1867 – 1936) was a novelist, short story writer and poet who lived in the small town of Agrigento in Sicily. In 1934 he won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Today his coastal house, Casa Natale di Luigi Pirandello, has been transformed into a museum dedicated to his life, his works and to Pirandello family memorabilia in general. I set out on a trip with fellow travel bloggers, Patricia Khalil (Descobrindo a Sicília) and Marco Cittadini (Piceno On the Road) to learn more about Pirandello’s life and home.
Firstly, the views from the Pirandello house are lovely – green coastal hills against the blue ocean and sky. It is little wonder Pirandello spent much of his time writing outside overlooking the open ocean.
And it seems that today someone has followed suit and has begun construction of a new house across this small valley below. Pretty please can I move in?
A short walk from the Pirandello House itself takes you to the writer’s tomb in the garden. The tomb is a rather large stone with inscriptions. This area was in fact Pirandello’s favorite spot – the perfect mix of sun, shade and tranquility. Pirandello loved to sit underneath a large pine tree in this garden. Unfortunately in 1997 lightning hit the area and the tree collapsed. Employees at the museum ensured the tree would remain near the stone since it is an important symbol of Pirandello’s life story.
After viewing the tomb, we went back to the house itself. At the entrance lies a bronze bust of Pirandello. There are a couple more of these busts inside the house too.
Unfortunately there is no communication in English on the displays so it’s best to do some background research prior to your visit. The house is still really interesting to see even if you cannot understand.
Rooms are quite colourful and there are many objects including paintings done by Pirandello’s family members – it seems as though they all had a love for the area and the beautiful azure ocean.
You’ll also find original works of Pirandello, handwritten letters in glass cabinets and even gifts donated to the museum.
What I loved most were the large black and white family photographs blown up on the walls. This makes the exhibition quite intimate and you really get a sense of what Pirandello and his family were like.
The Luigi Pirandello House and Museum is a splendid, well-kept attraction for literature lovers. A visit definitely constitutes ‘slow travel’ as this is a mostly rural area with precious mountain and sea combined. My suggestion is that you combine your trip to Luigi Pirandello’s House with a relaxing visit to Giardino della Kolymbetra and the Valley of the Temples – two other main highlights of the Agrigento region.
Let’s get #sicilying – follow the hashtag on Twitter and don’t forget to follow il Daily Slow and The Museum Times‘ Twitter handle. You can also visit the il Daily Slow website for additional slow travel stories (in Italian and English).
Elizabeth Joss-Bethlehem
Elizabeth Joss-Bethlehem is the founder and main writer at The Museum Times. She works as a university lecturer by day and is an avid travel blogger and arts and culture enthusiast by night. Elizabeth started The Museum Times out of the need to give smaller, lesser-known museums more exposure.
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