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.

Between white and black

The wall comes to life

The Burgos crucifix

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

A museum to save a tradition

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The Baroque town by the sea

Wonderful quick decorations

Norman apses

Feasting in Palazzolo

A half-Baroque church

Two illustrious patron saints

The Staircase of Angels

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The city of museums

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A city in colour

Some masterpieces

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

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

A small room with a golden entrance

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A miniature city

A new site for a new city

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

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

Many owners, one palace

The disastrous earthquake

Prominent façade

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Modica, a city with ancient origins

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Some prestigious works

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The chocolate of Modica

A square as the heart of the city

The theatre of taste

St. Sebastian, so much work!

New roads for Catania

One city, two sites

A new site for a new church

A majestic and luminous church

The interior and its masterpieces

The internal colours

Searching for colour

The façade used as a puppet theatre

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A triumph of colour

The Maiolica of the staircase

One city, three sites

A talking palace

An eagle-shaped city

Feast days

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A feast only for Scicli

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A colourful floor

A prominent church

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A hall for the feasts

The colours of the cathedral

A symbol for the town

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

Discovering the mother church

The two churches

The church of Carmine

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A long reconstruction

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

From International Gothic to present day