The city has been long famous for the production of pottery and terracotta wares. Nowadays the production is more and more oriented to the artistic production of ceramics and terra-cotta sculptures.

History

The city's name derives from the Arabic "qal'at-al-ganom" ("Castle of the Genies"). It has been inhabited since pre-historic times, as attested by the presence of two necropolis dating from the second millennium BC and by numerous other archaeological findings. It was later inhabited by the Sicel pre-Roman population.

The Arabs built  a castle here, which in 1030 was attacked by Ligurian troops under the Byzantine general George Maniakes and which have left traces of Ligurian language in the current dialect. The city flourished under the Norman and Hohenstaufen domination, becoming a renowned centre for production of ceramics.

The city was almost completely destroyed by the severe earthquake of 1693.  Many public and private buildings have then been reconstructed in Baroque style. Primarily for this reason, the city has been inserted, together with the surrounding territory in an area protected by the UNESCO World Heritage program.