Palazzolo Acreide

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

sight
Infinite lights and colours

How wonderful!
The light and colours inside the church of San Sebastiano leave everyone breathless!
The crystal chandeliers shine and the surfaces around them reflect and light up in turn.
The marble columns shine and the blue, green and yellow stained glass windows filter warm rays of sunshine.
Full of colour, the church interior is tinged with black and white from the floor, accompanied by the yellow and light grey of the columns, and the white and gold of the walls. navata laterale lampadari accesi

hearing
21 cannon shots

The feast of San Sebastiano is an important moment for all worshippers and the whole country. Citizens gather together to honour the patron saint.
Every year on 10th August at 8:15 am, twenty-one cannon shots precede the departure of the bread cart, accompanied by music, for the traditional collection of “cuddure” (ring-shaped biscuits), offered to St. Sebastian.
Loud noises, firecrackers, music, voices and shouting can be heard early in the morning.

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A colourful floor

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Norman apses

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

New roads for Catania

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A square as the heart of the city

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Two illustrious patron saints

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Between white and black

From International Gothic to present day

The colours of the cathedral

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

One city, two sites

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

Wonderful quick decorations

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The disastrous earthquake

Some masterpieces

The chocolate of Modica

A talking palace

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

The city of museums

The church of Carmine

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Maiolica of the staircase

A half-Baroque church

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A city in colour

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The interior and its masterpieces

The internal colours

A majestic and luminous church

Many owners, one palace

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A new site for a new church

Limestone, the colour of harmony

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The theatre of taste

A triumph of colour

Some prestigious works

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Feasting in Palazzolo

The wall comes to life

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

The two churches

Discovering the mother church

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A hall for the feasts

A small room with a golden entrance

The Burgos crucifix

Searching for colour

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

Feast days

A symbol for the town

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A miniature city

A long reconstruction

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Prominent façade

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

An eagle-shaped city

One city, three sites

A prominent church

The Staircase of Angels

The Baroque town by the sea