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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The chocolate of Modica

A square as the heart of the city

A colourful floor

The internal colours

The Staircase of Angels

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Limestone, the colour of harmony

St. Sebastian, so much work!

One city, three sites

The Maiolica of the staircase

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Many owners, one palace

A city in colour

Discovering the mother church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A triumph of colour

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

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

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

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

An eagle-shaped city

Searching for colour

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

A small room with a golden entrance

Some prestigious works

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The interior and its masterpieces

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The colours of the cathedral

New roads for Catania

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A new site for a new church

A prominent church

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A talking palace

A long reconstruction

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The two churches

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

From International Gothic to present day

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Prominent façade

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

The Baroque town by the sea

A new site for a new city

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A feast only for Scicli

A symbol for the town

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

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The theatre of taste

One city, two sites

The Burgos crucifix

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Feast days

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A majestic and luminous church

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

Norman apses

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The disastrous earthquake

Feasting in Palazzolo

The city of museums

The church of Carmine

A half-Baroque church

Between white and black

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Some masterpieces

A miniature city

Wonderful quick decorations