The Andromeda Theatre is a museum, an evocative place suspended at over 1,000 metres. Sicily never fails: every corner is a wonderful place.
Suspended at over 1000 metres, in the heart of the Sicani Mountains, there is a theatre suspended en plein air (in the open air). Built entirely of stone, the Andromeda Theatre is actually a huge museum, near Santo Stefano Quisquina in the province of Agrigento, surrounded by wild nature and overlooking a breathtaking panorama.
From up there the view is truly unique: in the distance you can even see the Strait of Sicily, the sea of Sciacca and the island of Pantelleria.
The construction of the Andromeda Theatre
The Andromeda Theatre is an unfinished work by Sicilian shepherd and sculptor Lorenzo Reina. He decided to take inspiration from the traditional Sicilian stone enclosures housing the flocks. About 30 years ago, in fact, while grazing with his flock he discovered this place and decided to realise his project.
The result is a sheepfold that has become a theatre, a place of art and poetry, immersed in the majesty of Sicilian nature and far removed from the clichés, the outside world and the modernity that takes over.
The 108 seats, created from cubic blocks of light-coloured stone and arranged seemingly at random, seen from above are actually shaped like eight-pointed stars. Each block occupies the place of one of the 108 stars of the constellation Andromeda. Even the gaps between the spaces are an accurate reproduction on the plane of the constellation.
The theatre is enclosed by a stone wall, with a door literally overlooking the overhang, giving space to the whole panorama towards the horizon.
The open-air construction, without limits or boundaries, gives the feeling of being inside the landscape itself. The door we have to go through to enter the theatre, makes us leave one world and enter another, where light and shadows alternate.
Visiting the theatre
The Andromeda Theatre, as already mentioned, is located near Santo Stefano Quisquina in the province of Agrigento, at the end of a country path that leads into the woods, guided by numerous sculptures, also created by Lorenzo Reina.
The work can be visited every day, including holidays, by booking on the official website, except on days when special events are hosted. The most eagerly awaited is certainly the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, for which we recommend booking well in advance.
The sculptures along the road leading to the theatre play a predominant role. During the summer solstice in particular, the Mask of the Word, every 21 June at 19:45, acts as a glimpse of the sun.
