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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Some prestigious works

Between white and black

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A long reconstruction

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

The Baroque town by the sea

A talking palace

Prominent façade

The colours of the cathedral

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

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

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

One city, two sites

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A hall for the feasts

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A majestic and luminous church

A new site for a new city

A small room with a golden entrance

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

The church of Carmine

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A triumph of colour

The wall comes to life

Some masterpieces

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A half-Baroque church

A symbol for the town

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The two churches

Discovering the mother church

The internal colours

Two illustrious patron saints

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

From International Gothic to present day

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A city in colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

The chocolate of Modica

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The city of museums

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

A miniature city

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The disastrous earthquake

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Feast days

Searching for colour

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Wonderful quick decorations

Norman apses

A museum to save a tradition

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

A colourful floor

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A new site for a new church

The theatre of taste

New roads for Catania

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A prominent church

One city, three sites

An eagle-shaped city

Many owners, one palace

The Burgos crucifix

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