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.

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Staircase of Angels

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A symbol for the town

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

The chocolate of Modica

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

Discovering the mother church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A city in colour

The wall comes to life

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

A feast only for Scicli

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A hall for the feasts

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A prominent church

A small room with a golden entrance

The city of museums

The two churches

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A museum to save a tradition

Wonderful quick decorations

A new site for a new church

Prominent façade

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Norman apses

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Baroque town by the sea

A square as the heart of the city

A triumph of colour

The theatre of taste

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

Many owners, one palace

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

An eagle-shaped city

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

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Between white and black

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Feasting in Palazzolo

A long reconstruction

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The interior and its masterpieces

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Maiolica of the staircase

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

A half-Baroque church

A miniature city

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

A new site for a new city

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

One city, three sites

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The church of Carmine

Feast days

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A colourful floor

The Burgos crucifix

New roads for Catania

The colours of the cathedral

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Some prestigious works

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

One city, two sites

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Two illustrious patron saints

The disastrous earthquake

A talking palace

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Searching for colour

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The internal colours

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento