Scicli

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

The Madonna of the Militia or Madonna on Horseback is celebrated in Scicli on the last Saturday of May. Madonna a Cavallo, Chiesa MadreThis feast has strong meaning for the Scicli community’s identity; it is intangible heritage of the highest value, due also to its uniqueness.
In fact, on that day, the Christians’ liberation from the Arab rule is celebrated. King Roger I of Sicily and his army freed Scicli from the Saracens in 1091 in the clash that took place in the plain of Donnalucata, near the sea and a few kilometres from the town centre. The Madonna on Horseback came to their aid and miraculously appeared before participating in the final battle.
This exceptional event is still commemorated today with the Feast of the Madonna of the Militia.
In her honour, the town is decorated with lights and all the citizens participate in long processions; it is the only feast in the world where a warrior virgin is celebrated.
A play is also put on that tells the story of the battle and the miraculous appearance.
Testa di Turco dolce To mark this day, dedicated to remembering the Virgin’s miraculous intervention, typical evocative desserts are prepared called Teste di Turco (“Testi Turcu” in dialect), meaning Turkish Heads.
These desserts are an ideological trophy. In fact, their shape is reminiscent of the turbans that covered the heads of the defeated invaders.
Despite their inspiration, they are delicious pastry puffs filled with ricotta cheese or custard.

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

The casket of austerity under the great dome

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

The Church of St. Benedict

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Carlo and the former Jesuit college

The city within the city

Barresi-Branciforte: the lords of the fiefdom and the modernisation of the town

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

The freedom of worship and the Catholic Church’s role in the diffusion of Baroque

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

The Benedictines’ library

City and nature

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

The neo-Gothic seminary chapel: symbols, light and space

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

The palace, the town, the church

The Palazzo dei due mori

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

The Church of St. Paul

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Piazza Duomo, the elephant fountain, the heart of the city

A casket of precious works

A stone garden

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

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

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

A heritage of votive works

The Duomo di San Giorgio (Cathedral of St. George)

The city palace

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

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

The Church of St. Francis

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

The senses tell the story of the Sanctuary Church of Santa Maria della Stella

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

The senses tell the Benedictine Monastery and the Church of San Nicolò l’Arena

The Franciscan convent

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

Geometry and wonder in civic architecture in the Baroque of the Val di Noto

The expansion of space and changing reality

Art in the cathedral

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

A story of rebirth

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

St. Agatha and the candelore

The eagle-shaped city

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

The church and the monastery

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

The Church of Madonna della Stella

The church and the college

The two churches

One city, three sites

The church of San Nicolò l’Arena: the majesty of an unfinished beauty

The Badia di Sant’Agata (St. Agatha’s Abbey)

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

A unifying project for the city of Catania

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

The new roads of the city

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

Verticality and dynamism of the façade of the Church of San Carlo

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

The articulated interior spaces

The Staircase of Angels

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

Reconstruction after the earthquake

Views denied, views conquered: the power of the devout Benedictines

Religious architecture

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

The art of maiolica

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

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

Altars, saints and sculptural works

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

Luminous sacred spaces

The interior and works of art

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

The interior of the church: space and colour

The works in the church

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town