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 miniature city

Feast days

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Searching for colour

Feasting in Palazzolo

The two churches

A small room with a golden entrance

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A city in colour

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Wonderful quick decorations

One city, two sites

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

The internal colours

Two illustrious patron saints

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A hall for the feasts

Discovering the mother church

The chocolate of Modica

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A Nobel Prize in Modica

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The colours of the cathedral

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Many owners, one palace

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

The church of Carmine

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Staircase of Angels

A half-Baroque church

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The city of museums

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A new site for a new city

The wall comes to life

New roads for Catania

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Some masterpieces

Between white and black

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A symbol for the town

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A triumph of colour

A square as the heart of the city

Prominent façade

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A museum to save a tradition

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

A prominent church

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

A new site for a new church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

An eagle-shaped city

One city, three sites

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Maiolica of the staircase

A colourful floor

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A feast only for Scicli

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The interior and its masterpieces

The disastrous earthquake

Some prestigious works

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

A long reconstruction

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

The Baroque town by the sea

Norman apses

The theatre of taste

A talking palace

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation