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.

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

Between white and black

Feast days

One city, two sites

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A half-Baroque church

Some prestigious works

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A colourful floor

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Searching for colour

Norman apses

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The wall comes to life

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A hall for the feasts

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The church of Carmine

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

One city, three sites

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

The city of museums

The interior and its masterpieces

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

Many owners, one palace

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

A feast only for Scicli

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

A city in colour

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A small room with a golden entrance

A talking palace

A prominent church

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A long reconstruction

A triumph of colour

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The colours of the cathedral

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

From International Gothic to present day

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

A symbol for the town

The internal colours

The Burgos crucifix

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Some masterpieces

The two churches

A new site for a new city

A square as the heart of the city

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Wonderful quick decorations

The Maiolica of the staircase

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Staircase of Angels

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Baroque town by the sea

A miniature city

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A museum to save a tradition

An eagle-shaped city

Prominent façade

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The theatre of taste

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A majestic and luminous church

Two illustrious patron saints

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

New roads for Catania

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A new site for a new church

Feasting in Palazzolo

The disastrous earthquake

Limestone, the colour of harmony