Scicli

A triumph of colour

The entrance to San Giovanni Evangelista (St. John the Evangelist) is through a long, narrow and dark antechamber which gives onto a large, wide and bright oval hall. The colourful interior decorations embellish and characterise the room. Blue features prominently, like a ribbon tying the space together. The walls are embellished with golden stucco decorations that shine and sparkle whenever a ray of sunshine hits them.

ingresso verso altare dettaglio finestre, trabeazione, putti
The church is also made brighter by the large windows that open onto the vault, whose colourful glass filters yellow, green and blue light.

dettaglio finestre, trabeazione, putti dettaglio finestra

 A wonderful 19th-century fresco with the Glory of St. Benedict completes the vault, and a whirlwind of angels welcomes the saint among the blessed. Once in the final part of the church, the area of the apse is a triumph of gold; a brilliant decoration illuminates the space reserved for liturgical services. At the end, a beautiful aedicula , behind the altar guards the statue of Our Lady of Sorrows, which completes the decorative display.

Zoom zona dell’ abside
zona dell’ abside

La volta La statua della cappella

A prominent church

Some prestigious works

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Wonderful quick decorations

The interior and its masterpieces

New roads for Catania

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

One city, two sites

An eagle-shaped city

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A small room with a golden entrance

Some masterpieces

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

Norman apses

A long reconstruction

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Prominent façade

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Searching for colour

The Maiolica of the staircase

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The wall comes to life

A new site for a new city

Feast days

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A miniature city

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A square as the heart of the city

A symbol for the town

The internal colours

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A colourful floor

The church of Carmine

Many owners, one palace

From International Gothic to present day

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The disastrous earthquake

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

A triumph of colour

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A majestic and luminous church

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A talking palace

Between white and black

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A city in colour

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Staircase of Angels

The colours of the cathedral

A museum to save a tradition

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A feast only for Scicli

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A new site for a new church

The Burgos crucifix

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

One city, three sites

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

Two illustrious patron saints

A hall for the feasts

The two churches

The theatre of taste

Discovering the mother church

The Baroque town by the sea

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The city of museums

Feasting in Palazzolo