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 triumph of colour

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A museum to save a tradition

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Burgos crucifix

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Some masterpieces

The chocolate of Modica

The two churches

A symbol for the town

The internal colours

A prominent church

Prominent façade

An eagle-shaped city

Many owners, one palace

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Wonderful quick decorations

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

Discovering the mother church

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

One city, three sites

Some prestigious works

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

New roads for Catania

The disastrous earthquake

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Feast days

The Baroque town by the sea

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The church of Carmine

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Maiolica of the staircase

Norman apses

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

One city, two sites

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A hall for the feasts

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

The theatre of taste

A miniature city

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A half-Baroque church

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Searching for colour

The wall comes to life

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A talking palace

A city in colour

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

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

A long reconstruction

A feast only for Scicli

A small room with a golden entrance

A majestic and luminous church

Between white and black

A colourful floor

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The city of museums

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Staircase of Angels

The colours of the cathedral

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A new site for a new city

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

A new site for a new church

Two illustrious patron saints

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

Feasting in Palazzolo