Scicli

The Baroque town by the sea

Scicli is one of the towns of the ancient County of Modica and is divided into three areas of interest, as described by the great Syracusan writer Elio Vittorini .
The town’s historical centre, included on the World Heritage List in 2002, is situated on the San Matteo hill and characterised by narrow, irregular streets that trace the medieval urban fabric.
The outermost areas near the “quarries” of San Bartolomeo and Santa Maria la Nova are also inhabited.
These important sites prove the presence of settlements since the Copper Age. The new township, a result of the earthquake of 1693, then extends along the Hyblaean plateau towards the sea.
In the mid-17th century Scicli had 11000 inhabitants and around forty churches, but the earthquake destroyed everything.
The most important church, San Matteo (St. Matthew), collapsed and many monasteries and convents suffered the same tragic fate.
Only a few buildings remained standing. What could be done? It was time to act. In this case they chose not to abandon Scicli, but to rebuild it. The town was extended around the oldest area. New civic and religious buildings were built such as the Palazzo Beneventano and the church of San Giovanni Evangelista (St. John the Evangelist).
White limestone was used for the new buildings. A typical material of the area, it was easy to work and sculpt, and bestowed the landscape with a bright and brilliant appearance.
foto della città

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A feast only for Scicli

Many owners, one palace

Between white and black

Feast days

A half-Baroque church

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

A square as the heart of the city

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Staircase of Angels

A new site for a new church

Norman apses

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

A city in colour

A colourful floor

The chocolate of Modica

The city of museums

The interior and its masterpieces

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

An eagle-shaped city

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The internal colours

A hall for the feasts

A new site for a new city

Modica, a city with ancient origins

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

One city, three sites

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

Wonderful quick decorations

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

New roads for Catania

The Maiolica of the staircase

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

The Burgos crucifix

The two churches

Two illustrious patron saints

A talking palace

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The church of Carmine

Prominent façade

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A miniature city

From International Gothic to present day

Some prestigious works

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A triumph of colour

A small room with a golden entrance

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Discovering the mother church

A prominent church

The disastrous earthquake

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The wall comes to life

A symbol for the town

Some masterpieces

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A museum to save a tradition

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

One city, two sites

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Baroque town by the sea

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A majestic and luminous church

The colours of the cathedral

Searching for colour

A long reconstruction

The theatre of taste

Limestone, the colour of harmony