Caltagirone

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

sight
Infinite colours for a single staircase

scala-infisorata-caltagironeWow!
The Staircase of St. Mary of the Mountain during the town’s most important feasts is an exciting sight.
In May the taircase becomes a colourful carpet of plants and flowers that perfume the air and together create a spectacular design dedicated to the Madonna dei Conadomini.
But it doesn’t stop here! To celebrate St. James and the Assumption of Mary into Heaven, 4000 tea lights are lit, one by one, to form a unique design on the staircase!
All the inhabitants take part and thousands of people meet at the foot of the staircase, all looking for the best viewpoint.

smell
The scent of the feasts

In addition to its colours and lights during the two most important feasts, the Staircase of St. Mary of the Mountain is also filled with various scents.
The smell of flowers accompanies the feast dedicated to the Madonna Conadomini, while burning wax is the typical aroma for the celebrations of St. James and the Assumption of the Virgin.
The flames of 140 tea lights illuminate the staircase until they go out, giving way to a slight burning smell.

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A colourful floor

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

Wonderful quick decorations

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

The two churches

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

The interior and its masterpieces

New roads for Catania

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The church of Carmine

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A new site for a new city

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Some prestigious works

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A talking palace

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

A triumph of colour

Some masterpieces

Discovering the mother church

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A half-Baroque church

A city in colour

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Baroque town by the sea

The Maiolica of the staircase

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

A feast only for Scicli

The Burgos crucifix

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

One city, three sites

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A new site for a new church

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A small room with a golden entrance

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The disastrous earthquake

Many owners, one palace

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The chocolate of Modica

A miniature city

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Norman apses

A square as the heart of the city

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Feast days

A hall for the feasts

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The theatre of taste

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

Searching for colour

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Limestone, the colour of harmony

One city, two sites

The colours of the cathedral

A symbol for the town

Two illustrious patron saints

Prominent façade

A long reconstruction

The Staircase of Angels

The wall comes to life

The city of museums

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

An eagle-shaped city

The internal colours

A prominent church

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Between white and black

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

From International Gothic to present day

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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