Palazzolo Acreide

Some masterpieces

The church houses splendid works that complete and decorate the interior.
The altar area definitely attracts attention. Composed of a series of wonderful elements, the structure behind the altar is a carving masterpiece.
La struttura dietro l’altare La struttura dietro l’altare
It is richly elaborate and a dozen columns surmounted by putto heads complete the composition. The same attention to detail can be found in the use of colour on the lower part of the structure, completely in marble; the artist chose and combined fragments of blue, red, yellow and white marble.

A little above the altar is the painting by Paolo Tanasi completed in 1827.
The work depicts the Annunciation , one of the most important moments in Christian history when the angel announced to the Virgin Mary that she would give birth to the Messiah. Tanasi chose well-defined colours such as yellow, which highlights the shape of the angel, and blue, which emphasises the corporeality of the Virgin Mary.
In the transept you can see the Madonna del Carmelo (Our Lady of Mount Carmel) completely covered in gold. She shines from afar and demands attention. The right nave houses the statue of Santa Teresa (St. Theresa) and as usual, above one of the altars is the depiction of the Holy Family, the Virgin Mary, the Child and John the Baptist.
Un dipinto, dietro l’altare raffigura l’Annunciazione la statua di Santa Teresa Madonna del Carmelo, nel transetto

Modica, a city with ancient origins

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A colourful floor

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A square as the heart of the city

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

Prominent façade

From International Gothic to present day

The two churches

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The city of museums

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

A new site for a new city

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The theatre of taste

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A talking palace

New roads for Catania

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A majestic and luminous church

Feasting in Palazzolo

The wall comes to life

The Baroque town by the sea

Some prestigious works

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A triumph of colour

Many owners, one palace

A new site for a new church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Burgos crucifix

Between white and black

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The church of Carmine

A symbol for the town

A prominent church

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Wonderful quick decorations

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A half-Baroque church

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Searching for colour

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The internal colours

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Staircase of Angels

An eagle-shaped city

A miniature city

One city, two sites

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

Discovering the mother church

The Maiolica of the staircase

A feast only for Scicli

A museum to save a tradition

Feast days

Norman apses

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The chocolate of Modica

One city, three sites

The interior and its masterpieces

The disastrous earthquake

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A hall for the feasts

The colours of the cathedral

Some masterpieces

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Connections with other UNESCO sites