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 Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A hall for the feasts

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A new site for a new church

From International Gothic to present day

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A miniature city

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Prominent façade

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A talking palace

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Discovering the mother church

A triumph of colour

The theatre of taste

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

A symbol for the town

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A feast only for Scicli

The city of museums

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

The interior and its masterpieces

A city in colour

The church of Carmine

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Norman apses

The Staircase of Angels

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

One city, three sites

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The Baroque town by the sea

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Searching for colour

The Burgos crucifix

Some prestigious works

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A prominent church

The two churches

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The colours of the cathedral

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

Some masterpieces

Wonderful quick decorations

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The wall comes to life

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A half-Baroque church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Feast days

Between white and black

A majestic and luminous church

A new site for a new city

One city, two sites

The chocolate of Modica

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

A colourful floor

Two illustrious patron saints

Many owners, one palace

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

The internal colours

New roads for Catania

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A long reconstruction

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Feasting in Palazzolo

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci