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 city of museums

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Searching for colour

A half-Baroque church

The two churches

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

One city, three sites

Feast days

The wall comes to life

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Two illustrious patron saints

Feasting in Palazzolo

A city in colour

A prominent church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The disastrous earthquake

The Maiolica of the staircase

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The theatre of taste

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

One city, two sites

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Many owners, one palace

A small room with a golden entrance

The interior and its masterpieces

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Between white and black

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Burgos crucifix

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

A symbol for the town

Prominent façade

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

Some prestigious works

A square as the heart of the city

A miniature city

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

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

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

The Baroque town by the sea

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A talking palace

A colourful floor

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

From International Gothic to present day

A majestic and luminous church

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A triumph of colour

Discovering the mother church

A new site for a new city

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The colours of the cathedral

The Staircase of Angels

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The chocolate of Modica

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Wonderful quick decorations

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A new site for a new church

A long reconstruction

The church of Carmine

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The internal colours

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Norman apses

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A feast only for Scicli

A museum to save a tradition

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe