Militello in Val di Catania

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

hearing
Sound on

The feast for the Holy Saviour of Militello involves its citizens and also attracts inhabitants from nearby villages and tourists: everyone is invited!
During the celebrations the most diverse sounds can be heard: cannon shots announcing the approaching feast; bells ringing to alert citizens of the beginning of the festivities; voices of the participants, the local band, and the prayers of the processions.
It’s impossible not to feel involved in the festivities, with each sound reminiscent of a precise moment.

sight
And then comes red…

The church interior looks like a white canvas with strokes of colour from the frescoes and stucco decorations that create plays of light and shadow.
The delicate white walls were combined with a white and grey chequered floor, with a geometric design formed of straight lines in an excellent contrast with the walls.
These delicate tones are enlivened during the feast of the Holy Saviour; long red drapes decorate the nave and the interior is transformed by colour!

smell
The memory of smell

The smell of the candle offered by the mayor and the scent of the flowers that adorn the streets are unmistakable, inevitable parts of the feast of the Holy Saviour.
These smells remain imprinted in the memory of young and old people alike, and whenever you catch a hint of them, they bring to mind moments of celebration and joy.

taste
Quince paste for the Holy Saviour

The feast of the Santissimo Salvatore (Holy Saviour) is also an opportunity to eat some typical sweets such as cognata (quince paste).
The recipe is very simple and requires only three ingredients: quince, sugar and lemon.
The ingredients are cooked using the same process as jam and placed in moulds for the mixture to solidify into a gelatinous consistency.
Special moulds in the shape of a globe with a cross on top are used for the feast of the Holy Saviour. La cotognata

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

A long reconstruction

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A talking palace

The Burgos crucifix

The disastrous earthquake

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

One city, two sites

A museum to save a tradition

The chocolate of Modica

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The two churches

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

A half-Baroque church

The internal colours

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A symbol for the town

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The church of Carmine

A feast only for Scicli

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Norman apses

A hall for the feasts

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

The wall comes to life

A miniature city

Searching for colour

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

New roads for Catania

A new site for a new church

One city, three sites

A small room with a golden entrance

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Feast days

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A square as the heart of the city

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A new site for a new city

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

Some masterpieces

A majestic and luminous church

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A triumph of colour

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Two illustrious patron saints

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Between white and black

An eagle-shaped city

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The city of museums

Wonderful quick decorations

The interior and its masterpieces

The Staircase of Angels

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The theatre of taste

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

Many owners, one palace

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

A colourful floor

Some prestigious works

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A prominent church

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

Prominent façade

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

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

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