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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

One city, three sites

Feast days

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The internal colours

The two churches

Searching for colour

Wonderful quick decorations

A prominent church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The interior and its masterpieces

The colours of the cathedral

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Norman apses

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Two illustrious patron saints

A triumph of colour

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

A majestic and luminous church

A new site for a new church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

A new site for a new city

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

The Burgos crucifix

The city of museums

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Some prestigious works

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

A half-Baroque church

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

Discovering the mother church

From International Gothic to present day

New roads for Catania

The disastrous earthquake

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A symbol for the town

The chocolate of Modica

A square as the heart of the city

A colourful floor

Prominent façade

One city, two sites

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

A small room with a golden entrance

Many owners, one palace

Some masterpieces

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A talking palace

A miniature city

The church of Carmine

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A city in colour

A museum to save a tradition

Modica, a city with ancient origins

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Staircase of Angels

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

The wall comes to life

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Between white and black

A feast only for Scicli

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A Nobel Prize in Modica

An eagle-shaped city

The Baroque town by the sea

The theatre of taste

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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