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.

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Prominent façade

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The two churches

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Between white and black

The chocolate of Modica

The colours of the cathedral

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Discovering the mother church

One city, three sites

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A miniature city

A square as the heart of the city

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A new site for a new city

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

One city, two sites

A triumph of colour

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The church of Carmine

A city in colour

A museum to save a tradition

New roads for Catania

Some masterpieces

Feast days

The wall comes to life

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

The disastrous earthquake

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

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

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A majestic and luminous church

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The internal colours

A colourful floor

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Searching for colour

A talking palace

Two illustrious patron saints

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A feast only for Scicli

The city of museums

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

From International Gothic to present day

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Burgos crucifix

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

A small room with a golden entrance

A long reconstruction

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Feasting in Palazzolo

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Wonderful quick decorations

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

Norman apses

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A symbol for the town

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Baroque town by the sea

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A new site for a new church

Some prestigious works

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Staircase of Angels

The theatre of taste

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A prominent church

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

Many owners, one palace