Caltagirone

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James) is one of the most important and heartfelt festivals in Caltagirone.
It is dedicated to the patron saint and lasts four days.
The festivities begin on the 23rd of July with fireworks and a concert. This is followed between the 24th and 25th by the illumination of the staircase and the majestic procession from San Giacomo to the town hall. The first official illumination was in 1703. On the evening of the 31st, the Relics and the Simulacrum of St. James are carried in procession and can be admired until the 1st of August when they are returned to the church.
The saint’s statue is carried around the entire town and always takes the same route. The festival has very ancient origins; it began in 1090!
It has been celebrated every year since. Over the centuries, things have inevitably changed, but not the spirit of the participants.

Two illustrious patron saints

Some masterpieces

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

The interior and its masterpieces

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

An eagle-shaped city

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A talking palace

From International Gothic to present day

Feasting in Palazzolo

A square as the heart of the city

The chocolate of Modica

A triumph of colour

The Burgos crucifix

New roads for Catania

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Many owners, one palace

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A new site for a new church

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Feast days

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The theatre of taste

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Some prestigious works

A city in colour

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

A hall for the feasts

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A miniature city

A long reconstruction

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

One city, three sites

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

Searching for colour

A colourful floor

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Staircase of Angels

A symbol for the town

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A prominent church

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

The Baroque town by the sea

The two churches

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The colours of the cathedral

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

One city, two sites

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

The city of museums

Norman apses

A museum to save a tradition

The wall comes to life

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A small room with a golden entrance

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Wonderful quick decorations

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A half-Baroque church

Between white and black

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A majestic and luminous church

The internal colours

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A new site for a new city

The church of Carmine

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

Prominent façade