Scicli

The Baroque town by the sea

Scicli is one of the towns of the ancient County of Modica and is divided into three areas of interest, as described by the great Syracusan writer Elio Vittorini .
The town’s historical centre, included on the World Heritage List in 2002, is situated on the San Matteo hill and characterised by narrow, irregular streets that trace the medieval urban fabric.
The outermost areas near the “quarries” of San Bartolomeo and Santa Maria la Nova are also inhabited.
These important sites prove the presence of settlements since the Copper Age. The new township, a result of the earthquake of 1693, then extends along the Hyblaean plateau towards the sea.
In the mid-17th century Scicli had 11000 inhabitants and around forty churches, but the earthquake destroyed everything.
The most important church, San Matteo (St. Matthew), collapsed and many monasteries and convents suffered the same tragic fate.
Only a few buildings remained standing. What could be done? It was time to act. In this case they chose not to abandon Scicli, but to rebuild it. The town was extended around the oldest area. New civic and religious buildings were built such as the Palazzo Beneventano and the church of San Giovanni Evangelista (St. John the Evangelist).
White limestone was used for the new buildings. A typical material of the area, it was easy to work and sculpt, and bestowed the landscape with a bright and brilliant appearance.
foto della città

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A feast only for Scicli

A hall for the feasts

Between white and black

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

A colourful floor

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

The wall comes to life

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A square as the heart of the city

A symbol for the town

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Burgos crucifix

Two illustrious patron saints

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Searching for colour

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Connections with other UNESCO sites

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A prominent church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A small room with a golden entrance

New roads for Catania

A new site for a new church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The disastrous earthquake

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

One city, three sites

Some masterpieces

One city, two sites

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A half-Baroque church

Many owners, one palace

An eagle-shaped city

A triumph of colour

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A miniature city

A long reconstruction

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The city of museums

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The interior and its masterpieces

The church of Carmine

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

The internal colours

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A talking palace

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

A museum to save a tradition

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The theatre of taste

The two churches

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Maiolica of the staircase

Norman apses

A city in colour

The chocolate of Modica

Prominent façade

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

From International Gothic to present day

A new site for a new city

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The colours of the cathedral

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

Feast days

Some prestigious works