Militello in Val di Catania

Discovering the mother church

foto scalinataThe entrance to the chiesa madre di San Nicolò e del Santissimo Salvatore (Mother Church of St. Nicholas and the Holy Saviour) is above street level and is accessed by two lateral staircases.
The façade is divided horizontally into three levels.
The first level includes the large central portal, inserted between two pairs of columns and closed off at the top by a tympanum with a broken arch. The two side doors, named “the sun” and “the moon”, are each surmounted by a window. The second level has a large window with a triangular tympanum. The third level is a broken arch tympanum that completes the façade, at the top of which there is a cross supported by a cherub ‘s head.
foto portaleAs for the internal structure of the church, it has a Latin cross plan, is divided into three naves and has five chapels on each side.
The decoration of the walls is simple and elegant; white is the predominant colour.
The frescoes in the vault and apse are the only aspects to break up the white. In 1950, Professor Giuseppe Barone painted and depicted scenes from the lives of St. Nicholas and the Holy Saviour.
foto interno chiesa ingresso altare navata centrale affreschi
The brightness is mainly given by the natural light from the windows under the trabeation that illuminate the entire nave.The area below the dome is also splendid, illuminated by a divine light from above.

Zoom la navata centrale
la navata centrale

The simple, white walls are contrasted by a floor that is anything but simple.
Made of grey and white Carrara marble, the precious material was laid in a chequered pattern.
foto della cupola dal basso
foto zoom pavimento

The internal colours

One city, three sites

The colours of the cathedral

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

The church of Carmine

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A symbol for the town

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A museum to save a tradition

Some prestigious works

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A triumph of colour

From International Gothic to present day

A hall for the feasts

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A long reconstruction

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A new site for a new church

A colourful floor

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The two churches

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A majestic and luminous church

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

New roads for Catania

The city of museums

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A miniature city

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

Prominent façade

Feast days

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Searching for colour

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

One city, two sites

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The theatre of taste

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The chocolate of Modica

A prominent church

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

The interior and its masterpieces

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

The disastrous earthquake

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Some masterpieces

Between white and black

The Staircase of Angels

Two illustrious patron saints

Discovering the mother church

A city in colour

Many owners, one palace

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A talking palace

Norman apses

The Baroque town by the sea

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

The wall comes to life

A feast only for Scicli

A new site for a new city

The Barresi-Branciforte lords