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.

Searching for colour

A symbol for the town

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Discovering the mother church

New roads for Catania

Wonderful quick decorations

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Between white and black

A hall for the feasts

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A new site for a new city

A half-Baroque church

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

The wall comes to life

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A museum to save a tradition

A colourful floor

The disastrous earthquake

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

The colours of the cathedral

Norman apses

A prominent church

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

From International Gothic to present day

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

A city in colour

A majestic and luminous church

The two churches

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Two illustrious patron saints

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

One city, two sites

Some prestigious works

The internal colours

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

An eagle-shaped city

A talking palace

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Burgos crucifix

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A small room with a golden entrance

Some masterpieces

A new site for a new church

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The church of Carmine

The interior and its masterpieces

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Staircase of Angels

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A miniature city

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Prominent façade

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A feast only for Scicli

The Maiolica of the staircase

The city of museums

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

A triumph of colour

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

The chocolate of Modica

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

The theatre of taste

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Feast days

One city, three sites

A long reconstruction

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Limestone, the colour of harmony