Militello in Val di Catania

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

During the feudal dominion of the Barresi-Branciforte family, the town of Militello in Val di Catania underwent remarkable restoration and reorganisation.
The enlightened prince Francesco Branciforte married Joanna of Austria, granddaughter of Charles V and cousin of the King of Spain, then launched an urbanisation plan to redesign the small town and adapt it to new cultural and political needs. The town’s transformations included one that involved the fortified castle, which was turned into a palace and equipped in 1612 with a well-stocked library , printing house and a sort of chemical laboratory. foto castello barresi branciforte
A public fountain was later built in the castle’s courtyard.
The square of the mother church was updated in 1617 alongside the two main streets in the centre of Militello, which were widened and straightened.
Connecting roads were also built outside the former perimeter walls, which encouraged the creation of new districts.
The powerful family also promoted patronage and funded the reconstruction of the bell tower of the Chiesa Madre di San Nicolò (Mother Church of St. Nicholas) and the extension of the Church of Santa Maria (St. Mary), which became the Barresi family’s burial place in the 16th century.

Connections with other UNESCO sites

From International Gothic to present day

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Discovering the mother church

One city, three sites

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The theatre of taste

A prominent church

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

The city of museums

The disastrous earthquake

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Many owners, one palace

An eagle-shaped city

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

A half-Baroque church

Some prestigious works

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

Norman apses

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

New roads for Catania

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A museum to save a tradition

The Maiolica of the staircase

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The interior and its masterpieces

A new site for a new church

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A new site for a new city

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A city in colour

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

A small room with a golden entrance

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A miniature city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Feast days

Wonderful quick decorations

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A talking palace

One city, two sites

The internal colours

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

A majestic and luminous church

A feast only for Scicli

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

The Burgos crucifix

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Baroque town by the sea

A triumph of colour

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A hall for the feasts

A long reconstruction

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The two churches

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The chocolate of Modica

Searching for colour

A colourful floor

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Prominent façade

The church of Carmine

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The colours of the cathedral

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Between white and black

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A square as the heart of the city

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Some masterpieces

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

A symbol for the town

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Staircase of Angels

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto