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 kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A city in colour

The disastrous earthquake

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

A triumph of colour

One city, three sites

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The internal colours

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A long reconstruction

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A museum to save a tradition

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Some prestigious works

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

A feast only for Scicli

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The chocolate of Modica

The city of museums

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Many owners, one palace

From International Gothic to present day

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

The colours of the cathedral

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Baroque town by the sea

Prominent façade

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

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The theatre of taste

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

A small room with a golden entrance

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Feasting in Palazzolo

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The two churches

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Discovering the mother church

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Two illustrious patron saints

The interior and its masterpieces

A miniature city

A new site for a new church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A hall for the feasts

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Burgos crucifix

A majestic and luminous church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

One city, two sites

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

The church of Carmine

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Wonderful quick decorations

Between white and black

A talking palace

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Searching for colour

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

A square as the heart of the city

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Norman apses

A symbol for the town

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Staircase of Angels

The Maiolica of the staircase

A prominent church

Feast days

New roads for Catania

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

An eagle-shaped city

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A colourful floor

A new site for a new city