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.

The colours of the cathedral

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

Feast days

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

From International Gothic to present day

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Discovering the mother church

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

Two illustrious patron saints

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

The two churches

A triumph of colour

Modica, a city with ancient origins

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A miniature city

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Between white and black

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A hall for the feasts

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Norman apses

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

A prominent church

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A talking palace

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

Some masterpieces

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Burgos crucifix

The wall comes to life

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The disastrous earthquake

A new site for a new church

A small room with a golden entrance

Searching for colour

A symbol for the town

New roads for Catania

A half-Baroque church

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The interior and its masterpieces

A long reconstruction

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A new site for a new city

The church of Carmine

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Some prestigious works

The Baroque town by the sea

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A square as the heart of the city

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

One city, three sites

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Maiolica of the staircase

Prominent façade

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A city in colour

The city of museums

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

A majestic and luminous church

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

The internal colours

Wonderful quick decorations

The Staircase of Angels

One city, two sites

The theatre of taste

Many owners, one palace

A colourful floor

A museum to save a tradition

Limestone, the colour of harmony