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).

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

The two churches

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A hall for the feasts

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A city in colour

A talking palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Searching for colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

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

A long reconstruction

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Many owners, one palace

A museum to save a tradition

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The interior and its masterpieces

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The colours of the cathedral

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

The Burgos crucifix

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

New roads for Catania

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

One city, three sites

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

Prominent façade

Feasting in Palazzolo

From International Gothic to present day

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

An eagle-shaped city

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A colourful floor

A feast only for Scicli

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The Baroque town by the sea

The internal colours

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Between white and black

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A small room with a golden entrance

Two illustrious patron saints

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Some masterpieces

Norman apses

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The chocolate of Modica

The Staircase of Angels

A triumph of colour

The disastrous earthquake

Some prestigious works

One city, two sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Wonderful quick decorations

Feast days

A half-Baroque church

A new site for a new church

The theatre of taste

The Maiolica of the staircase

The city of museums

A majestic and luminous church

Discovering the mother church

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

The wall comes to life

The church of Carmine

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A square as the heart of the city

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A symbol for the town

A miniature city

A new site for a new city

A prominent church

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family