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 the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Some prestigious works

The internal colours

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The Baroque town by the sea

New roads for Catania

The interior and its masterpieces

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

A half-Baroque church

Prominent façade

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The theatre of taste

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

A hall for the feasts

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

A majestic and luminous church

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A new site for a new city

A long reconstruction

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Burgos crucifix

Two illustrious patron saints

Norman apses

The chocolate of Modica

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

One city, two sites

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

An eagle-shaped city

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A miniature city

A city in colour

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A small room with a golden entrance

Many owners, one palace

The church of Carmine

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

A triumph of colour

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Limestone, the colour of harmony

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Searching for colour

The colours of the cathedral

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

From International Gothic to present day

The two churches

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

Some masterpieces

The Maiolica of the staircase

Feast days

Between white and black

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

A talking palace

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

A feast only for Scicli

A square as the heart of the city

A symbol for the town

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The wall comes to life

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A colourful floor

One city, three sites

A prominent church

Feasting in Palazzolo

A new site for a new church

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The city of museums

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Connections with other UNESCO sites