Militello in Val di Catania

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Inside the courtyard of the Barresi-Branciforte castle is the Fontana della Ninfa Zizza (Fountain of the Nymph Zizza), dating back to 1607.foto fontana zizza frontale d’insieme The rich family, who was very attentive to its citizens, funded a series of public works. It was responsible for building the aqueduct that brought water from the source in the Zizza quarter to the castle, where the fountain provided water for the entire community. It was the town’s first source of public drinking water, an event of great importance at the time.
This work, attributed to Giandomenico Gagini , is located on a terraced wall and inserted in an aedicula with half columns framing the marble bas-relief of the girl Zizza, from whose breasts the water flows; to the right and left of the aedicula are two lion heads inserted in niches , while at the base there is an octagonal basin surmounted by satyr ‘s mask.


The original bas-relief has been kept in the former convent of San Domenico (St. Dominic) since the 1990s due to weather degradation and was restored in 2006. Legend has it that the young Zizza, a shepherdess in love with Lembasi, was betrothed in an unwanted marriage, so she transformed into a spring and her love turned into a stream.
The story was published in 1623 by Pietro Carrera, a historian and scholar who was part of the Branciforte court.

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

A city in colour

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A museum to save a tradition

Many owners, one palace

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

The Staircase of Angels

A new site for a new church

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A hall for the feasts

The internal colours

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Feasting in Palazzolo

The city of museums

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Prominent façade

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

Some prestigious works

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A symbol for the town

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A feast only for Scicli

Searching for colour

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Wonderful quick decorations

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The chocolate of Modica

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The two churches

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Norman apses

New roads for Catania

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

A square as the heart of the city

Feast days

The interior and its masterpieces

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

One city, two sites

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Two illustrious patron saints

A long reconstruction

A small room with a golden entrance

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Discovering the mother church

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The disastrous earthquake

Some masterpieces

The Burgos crucifix

A half-Baroque church

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

A new site for a new city

Modica, a city with ancient origins

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

An eagle-shaped city

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A talking palace

From International Gothic to present day

The theatre of taste

A majestic and luminous church

A miniature city

A triumph of colour

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The colours of the cathedral

One city, three sites

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A prominent church

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

Between white and black

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The Baroque town by the sea

The church of Carmine

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A colourful floor

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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