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 senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

New roads for Catania

Feasting in Palazzolo

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A half-Baroque church

Feast days

From International Gothic to present day

Norman apses

A prominent church

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

One city, two sites

The Baroque town by the sea

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

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

The Burgos crucifix

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

Searching for colour

A long reconstruction

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The disastrous earthquake

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The city of museums

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Maiolica of the staircase

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A colourful floor

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The colours of the cathedral

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The church of Carmine

Between white and black

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A hall for the feasts

A symbol for the town

The internal colours

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

A talking palace

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Two illustrious patron saints

Some masterpieces

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A square as the heart of the city

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Wonderful quick decorations

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

A feast only for Scicli

The chocolate of Modica

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A museum to save a tradition

The Staircase of Angels

A small room with a golden entrance

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The two churches

One city, three sites

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A majestic and luminous church

Prominent façade

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A new site for a new church

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

The wall comes to life

A new site for a new city

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A triumph of colour

A miniature city

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Many owners, one palace

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The interior and its masterpieces

The theatre of taste

Discovering the mother church

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Some prestigious works