Palazzolo Acreide

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

sight
Infinite lights and colours

How wonderful!
The light and colours inside the church of San Sebastiano leave everyone breathless!
The crystal chandeliers shine and the surfaces around them reflect and light up in turn.
The marble columns shine and the blue, green and yellow stained glass windows filter warm rays of sunshine.
Full of colour, the church interior is tinged with black and white from the floor, accompanied by the yellow and light grey of the columns, and the white and gold of the walls. navata laterale lampadari accesi

hearing
21 cannon shots

The feast of San Sebastiano is an important moment for all worshippers and the whole country. Citizens gather together to honour the patron saint.
Every year on 10th August at 8:15 am, twenty-one cannon shots precede the departure of the bread cart, accompanied by music, for the traditional collection of “cuddure” (ring-shaped biscuits), offered to St. Sebastian.
Loud noises, firecrackers, music, voices and shouting can be heard early in the morning.

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The theatre of taste

The wall comes to life

Prominent façade

The senses tell the Benedictine Monastery and San NicoIò l’Arena

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The two churches

The city of museums

New roads for Catania

A new site for a new church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A museum to save a tradition

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Wonderful quick decorations

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

St. Sebastian, so much work!

From the contrast of the exterior to the internal jubilation of colours

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Between white and black

Freedom of worship and the role of the Catholic Church in the diffusion of Baroque

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A miniature city

The senses tell the story of the church of Santa Maria del Carmelo

Some prestigious works

A city in colour

The church of Carmine

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The chocolate of Modica

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The interior and its masterpieces

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Giovanni Evangelista

A half-Baroque church

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A talking palace

Many owners, one palace

A hall for the feasts

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The role of the religious orders in rebuilding the Val di Noto

Two illustrious patron saints

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A small room with a golden entrance

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

One city, two sites

A long reconstruction

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giovanni Battista

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

From International Gothic to present day

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Feast days

Some masterpieces

A triumph of colour

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Searching for colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A prominent church

The internal colours

A majestic and luminous church

A feast only for Scicli

A symbol for the town

One city, three sites

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell the story of the staircase of Santa Maria del Monte

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the Mother Church of San Nicolò and of the Santissimo Salvatore

The colours of the cathedral

An eagle-shaped city

The disastrous earthquake

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A colourful floor

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Church of San Giuliano (St. Julian) on Via dei Crociferi: reconstruction

A square as the heart of the city

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the story of the Badia di Sant’Agata

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Norman apses

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Giuliano ai Crociferi

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe