Militello in Val di Catania

Discovering the mother church

foto scalinataThe entrance to the chiesa madre di San Nicolò e del Santissimo Salvatore (Mother Church of St. Nicholas and the Holy Saviour) is above street level and is accessed by two lateral staircases.
The façade is divided horizontally into three levels.
The first level includes the large central portal, inserted between two pairs of columns and closed off at the top by a tympanum with a broken arch. The two side doors, named “the sun” and “the moon”, are each surmounted by a window. The second level has a large window with a triangular tympanum. The third level is a broken arch tympanum that completes the façade, at the top of which there is a cross supported by a cherub ‘s head.
foto portaleAs for the internal structure of the church, it has a Latin cross plan, is divided into three naves and has five chapels on each side.
The decoration of the walls is simple and elegant; white is the predominant colour.
The frescoes in the vault and apse are the only aspects to break up the white. In 1950, Professor Giuseppe Barone painted and depicted scenes from the lives of St. Nicholas and the Holy Saviour.
foto interno chiesa ingresso altare navata centrale affreschi
The brightness is mainly given by the natural light from the windows under the trabeation that illuminate the entire nave.The area below the dome is also splendid, illuminated by a divine light from above.

Zoom la navata centrale
la navata centrale

The simple, white walls are contrasted by a floor that is anything but simple.
Made of grey and white Carrara marble, the precious material was laid in a chequered pattern.
foto della cupola dal basso
foto zoom pavimento

A miniature city

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Feasting in Palazzolo

Feast days

A prominent church

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A square as the heart of the city

A triumph of colour

Many owners, one palace

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

From International Gothic to present day

The two churches

The Staircase of Angels

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

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 the Mother Church of San Nicolò and of the Santissimo Salvatore

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A new site for a new church

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

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

The city of museums

Searching for colour

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The chocolate of Modica

One city, two sites

The interior and its masterpieces

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The theatre of taste

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A feast only for Scicli

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Prominent façade

A colourful floor

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The disastrous earthquake

An eagle-shaped city

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Norman apses

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

A majestic and luminous church

A museum to save a tradition

Between white and black

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A new site for a new city

The colours of the cathedral

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

New roads for Catania

A half-Baroque church

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Burgos crucifix

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A symbol for the town

The church of Carmine

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

The internal colours

One city, three sites

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A long reconstruction

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A talking palace

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Two illustrious patron saints

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Some masterpieces

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Discovering the mother church

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Some prestigious works

A city in colour

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Baroque town by the sea