Caltagirone

An eagle-shaped city

Caltagirone boasts very ancient origins: the first settlements date back to the Neolithic Age.
Its strategic position high up in the hills brought the town centuries-long fortune.foto panoramica della città
Situated in the fertile plain between the Hyblaean and Erean Mountains, the Normans passed through Caltagirone and the Greeks and Romans before them. It has always been a very active city, with the work to renew not a consequence of the earthquake, but beginning much earlier.
Two main roads were built, one connecting the area of San Giorgio with San Giacomo and the other connecting the main church to the southern quarter.
The extraordinary Scalinata di Santa Maria del Monte (Staircase of St. Mary of the Mountain) was built during this new road organisation, which included a plan of streets at right angles.
Foto drone cittàWhen seen from above, the town’s new layout was shaped like an eagle: the old quarter of the castle was its head, the quarters of San Giacomo and San Giorgio its wings, and the quarter of San Francesco its tail.
After the earthquake of 1693 Caltagirone was rebuilt on the same site and the previous road layout maintained. The city was enriched with splendid buildings and new architecture in blatant Baroque style, such as the church of Santa Chiara (St. Claire).

A talking palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A colourful floor

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Many owners, one palace

A majestic and luminous church

A triumph of colour

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

One city, two sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

A prominent church

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The chocolate of Modica

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The church of Carmine

The city of museums

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

One city, three sites

A square as the heart of the city

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A city in colour

The interior and its masterpieces

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Wonderful quick decorations

A feast only for Scicli

A new site for a new city

Limestone, the colour of harmony

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A symbol for the town

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The internal colours

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Norman apses

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A long reconstruction

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Searching for colour

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

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

The colours of the cathedral

Some masterpieces

The wall comes to life

The Staircase of Angels

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Two illustrious patron saints

A half-Baroque church

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Some prestigious works

The theatre of taste

A miniature city

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

New roads for Catania

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Feast days

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

Between white and black

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

The disastrous earthquake

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A new site for a new church

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

The two churches

Modica, a city with ancient origins

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Baroque town by the sea

A museum to save a tradition

The Burgos crucifix

A small room with a golden entrance

A hall for the feasts

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Prominent façade

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Feasting in Palazzolo

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