Maratona di Ragusa (Mangia's Maratona di Ragusa): Dates, Tickets & Venue (Ragusa)

A marathon through a rebuilt city

Ragusa is a city of stone staircases and church domes. Most of what you see here went up after the earthquake of 1693, when much of southeastern Sicily had to be rebuilt in one go. The style it was rebuilt in is the reason the Val di Noto towns, Ragusa among them, went onto UNESCO’s World Heritage list in 2002.

The Maratona di Ragusa sends runners through that baroque townscape in the middle of the Sicilian winter. There is a full marathon and a half-marathon. For spectators it is a free street event. For runners it is a road race in one of the most photographed towns in the south of Italy.

Date, distances and where the details live

This edition takes place on Sunday, January 17, 2027. The “Mangia’s” in the full name is the title sponsor’s branding, and you will see it on race material alongside the plain name, Maratona di Ragusa.

• Distances: marathon (42.195 km) and half-marathon (21.0975 km)
• “Tickets”: for runners, that means race registration; spectators don’t need one
• Information: the organiser publishes the course, start area and registration details on the race’s official site

Italian road races run under the national athletics federation (FIDAL) usually require a medical certificate for competitive sport. Non-Italian runners typically enter with a RunCard or a medical certificate from home. Foreign entrants usually sort that paperwork out at the same time as registering.

Two towns on one hill: Superiore and Ibla

This section explains why the city looks the way it does. Ragusa is really two places. Ragusa Ibla is the old town, sitting on a lower spur. Ragusa Superiore is the newer grid on the ridge above it, laid out after the 1693 earthquake.

A ravine separates the two halves, and they are linked by long flights of steps and a road that winds down the slope. From the top of the stairs near Santa Maria delle Scale you can look across the whole of Ibla. It’s a single mass of honey-coloured stone and terracotta roofs, with the green dome of the Duomo di San Giorgio above everything else.

Anyone who has walked between the two towns knows the hills are real. Whatever line the course takes, this is not a flat city. Runners who know Ragusa tend to treat it as a scenery race, not a personal-best course.

Getting to Ragusa in mid-January

The nearest airport is Comiso (Pio La Torre), a short drive west of the city. Flight choice there is limited in winter. Many visitors fly into Catania Fontanarossa instead, which has far more routes, and then drive or take a bus southwest across the Hyblaean plateau. The trip takes around two hours.

Ragusa also has a railway station in the upper town, on the regional line through southeastern Sicily. Services are slow and infrequent, so most race visitors come by car or coach.

Mid-January is low season on the island. Hotels in Ibla, which fill up in summer, are much quieter in winter. Runners usually stay in Superiore if they want to be near shops and parking, and in Ibla if they want to step out into the old lanes.

Cheering, coffee and the Sunday rhythm

Watching an Italian road race works much like anywhere else, apart from the vocabulary. Locals shout “Dai!” (“come on!”) or “Forza!” at runners, often adding a name if it’s printed on the bib. Maratona means the full distance and mezza maratona the half.

Coffee comes first for most spectators. In a Sicilian bar you usually pay at the till (cassa) first, then hand the receipt to the barista and drink standing at the counter. Sitting at a table often costs more. An espresso is simply un caffè.

Race morning is still a Sunday in a small Italian city. Many shops stay shut, and the big moment of the day is the long family lunch, which usually starts around 1pm. Restaurants in Ibla tend to fill with local families then. Groups of finishers usually reserve a table through their hotel or turn up a little after the lunch rush.

• Cards: widely accepted in restaurants and hotels; small bars and bakeries sometimes prefer coins
• Tipping: not expected; rounding up or leaving a few coins is normal
• Churches: shoulders and knees covered if you go inside after the race

After the finish: scaccia and Ragusano

Ragusa has a strong local food tradition, and much of it is good after a long run. Scaccia ragusana is the city’s own: thin dough folded over and over around tomato, cheese, aubergine or ricotta and onion. It’s then baked and sold in slices at bakeries.

The other local name to look for is Ragusano DOP. This is a hard cow’s-milk cheese from the Hyblaean plateau, aged in long rectangular blocks and often served grated or in slices with bread. Bakeries also sell arancine and sweet ricotta pastries, and in Ibla these sit next to cafés facing the cathedral steps.

A slow afternoon in Ibla

The race takes a morning. The town deserves the rest of the weekend. The obvious walk runs downhill from Superiore into Ibla. Then go along to Piazza Duomo and the stepped façade of San Giorgio, built to a design by Rosario Gagliardi, and on to the Giardino Ibleo, a public garden at the far end of the spur.

Back in the upper town, the Cattedrale di San Giovanni Battista has the main square of Superiore. If you have a car, Modica and Scicli, two more of the baroque Val di Noto towns, are each a short drive away. Plenty of race visitors turn the trip into a long weekend in the southeast.