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 Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A new site for a new church

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The theatre of taste

The disastrous earthquake

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The colours of the cathedral

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Maiolica of the staircase

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Some prestigious works

The two churches

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A city in colour

The Burgos crucifix

A half-Baroque church

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A symbol for the town

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A long reconstruction

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Prominent façade

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

The Baroque town by the sea

Searching for colour

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

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

The wall comes to life

Feasting in Palazzolo

A miniature city

Feast days

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Staircase of Angels

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

One city, two sites

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A new site for a new city

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

A talking palace

The church of Carmine

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

A colourful floor

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The city of museums

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

Wonderful quick decorations

An eagle-shaped city

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A small room with a golden entrance

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Discovering the mother church

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

A triumph of colour

Two illustrious patron saints

One city, three sites

A hall for the feasts

A majestic and luminous church

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Between white and black

A square as the heart of the city

The internal colours

Norman apses

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

New roads for Catania

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Many owners, one palace

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

A feast only for Scicli

A prominent church