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 wall comes to life

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Feasting in Palazzolo

The chocolate of Modica

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

The Staircase of Angels

One city, two sites

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Norman apses

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Many owners, one palace

The Baroque town by the sea

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Searching for colour

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Between white and black

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

A majestic and luminous church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A Nobel Prize in Modica

From International Gothic to present day

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

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

A talking palace

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Burgos crucifix

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The church of Carmine

New roads for Catania

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Prominent façade

Discovering the mother church

The theatre of taste

Two illustrious patron saints

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

One city, three sites

A museum to save a tradition

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

An eagle-shaped city

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

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

A square as the heart of the city

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A symbol for the town

Feast days

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A feast only for Scicli

A new site for a new church

The two churches

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Some prestigious works

The internal colours

A new site for a new city

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

A triumph of colour

A small room with a golden entrance

Some masterpieces

A hall for the feasts

A colourful floor

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A long reconstruction

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

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

The interior and its masterpieces

The city of museums

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The colours of the cathedral

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Wonderful quick decorations

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A prominent church

A miniature city