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.

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

Between white and black

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Feasting in Palazzolo

Searching for colour

The Baroque town by the sea

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Many owners, one palace

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A square as the heart of the city

The Burgos crucifix

Feast days

A hall for the feasts

The two churches

The Maiolica of the staircase

The internal colours

Modica, a city with ancient origins

St. Sebastian, so much work!

One city, two sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Prominent façade

Discovering the mother church

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Limestone, the colour of harmony

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

From International Gothic to present day

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

Wonderful quick decorations

The wall comes to life

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

Some masterpieces

A long reconstruction

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A prominent church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A new site for a new church

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

One city, three sites

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

New roads for Catania

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The chocolate of Modica

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A talking palace

Norman apses

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A majestic and luminous church

Some prestigious works

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The city of museums

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A symbol for the town

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

The church of Carmine

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A city in colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A triumph of colour

A half-Baroque church

Two illustrious patron saints

A colourful floor

A miniature city

An eagle-shaped city

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A small room with a golden entrance

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

The theatre of taste

The disastrous earthquake

A museum to save a tradition

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto