Palazzolo Acreide

Some masterpieces

The church houses splendid works that complete and decorate the interior.
The altar area definitely attracts attention. Composed of a series of wonderful elements, the structure behind the altar is a carving masterpiece.
La struttura dietro l’altare La struttura dietro l’altare
It is richly elaborate and a dozen columns surmounted by putto heads complete the composition. The same attention to detail can be found in the use of colour on the lower part of the structure, completely in marble; the artist chose and combined fragments of blue, red, yellow and white marble.

A little above the altar is the painting by Paolo Tanasi completed in 1827.
The work depicts the Annunciation , one of the most important moments in Christian history when the angel announced to the Virgin Mary that she would give birth to the Messiah. Tanasi chose well-defined colours such as yellow, which highlights the shape of the angel, and blue, which emphasises the corporeality of the Virgin Mary.
In the transept you can see the Madonna del Carmelo (Our Lady of Mount Carmel) completely covered in gold. She shines from afar and demands attention. The right nave houses the statue of Santa Teresa (St. Theresa) and as usual, above one of the altars is the depiction of the Holy Family, the Virgin Mary, the Child and John the Baptist.
Un dipinto, dietro l’altare raffigura l’Annunciazione la statua di Santa Teresa Madonna del Carmelo, nel transetto

A half-Baroque church

A hall for the feasts

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Burgos crucifix

Feast days

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

A small room with a golden entrance

A majestic and luminous church

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Some masterpieces

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A miniature city

From International Gothic to present day

The theatre of taste

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A symbol for the town

A talking palace

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

A triumph of colour

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

The wall comes to life

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The two churches

The city of museums

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A city in colour

A feast only for Scicli

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

A prominent church

The Maiolica of the staircase

A new site for a new city

Between white and black

The internal colours

Two illustrious patron saints

A new site for a new church

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Prominent façade

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Wonderful quick decorations

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

New roads for Catania

The Staircase of Angels

Feasting in Palazzolo

Searching for colour

A square as the heart of the city

The colours of the cathedral

One city, three sites

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The chocolate of Modica

One city, two sites

The disastrous earthquake

The interior and its masterpieces

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

The church of Carmine

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A museum to save a tradition

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Norman apses

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Some prestigious works

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Many owners, one palace

A colourful floor

The façade used as a puppet theatre

An eagle-shaped city

A long reconstruction

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Baroque town by the sea

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church