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.

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A miniature city

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

A half-Baroque church

The city of museums

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A long reconstruction

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A city in colour

The interior and its masterpieces

Feast days

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Many owners, one palace

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

A symbol for the town

Some prestigious works

The Maiolica of the staircase

One city, three sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The internal colours

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

An eagle-shaped city

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Wonderful quick decorations

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

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A prominent church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

New roads for Catania

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Searching for colour

A new site for a new church

A majestic and luminous church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The wall comes to life

The Staircase of Angels

The church of Carmine

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Some masterpieces

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The chocolate of Modica

The theatre of taste

The two churches

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

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A square as the heart of the city

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Between white and black

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

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

A museum to save a tradition

A triumph of colour

A new site for a new city

A talking palace

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

One city, two sites

The disastrous earthquake

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Two illustrious patron saints

A colourful floor

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Norman apses

Feasting in Palazzolo

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A feast only for Scicli

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Discovering the mother church

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

From International Gothic to present day

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Prominent façade

Modica, a city with ancient origins