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

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

The Staircase of Angels

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Between white and black

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The internal colours

The Burgos crucifix

The chocolate of Modica

An eagle-shaped city

One city, two sites

The wall comes to life

A hall for the feasts

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The city of museums

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The church of Carmine

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A museum to save a tradition

One city, three sites

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A small room with a golden entrance

Searching for colour

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Maiolica of the staircase

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The two churches

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A prominent church

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A new site for a new city

Some masterpieces

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

A new site for a new church

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

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

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

A colourful floor

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A miniature city

Norman apses

Some prestigious works

The disastrous earthquake

A triumph of colour

New roads for Catania

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Discovering the mother church

The theatre of taste

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A talking palace

A majestic and luminous church

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The interior and its masterpieces

Feast days

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Wonderful quick decorations

Prominent façade

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A square as the heart of the city

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A symbol for the town

From International Gothic to present day

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A city in colour

A long reconstruction

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The colours of the cathedral

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Many owners, one palace

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church