Scicli

The Baroque town by the sea

Scicli is one of the towns of the ancient County of Modica and is divided into three areas of interest, as described by the great Syracusan writer Elio Vittorini .
The town’s historical centre, included on the World Heritage List in 2002, is situated on the San Matteo hill and characterised by narrow, irregular streets that trace the medieval urban fabric.
The outermost areas near the “quarries” of San Bartolomeo and Santa Maria la Nova are also inhabited.
These important sites prove the presence of settlements since the Copper Age. The new township, a result of the earthquake of 1693, then extends along the Hyblaean plateau towards the sea.
In the mid-17th century Scicli had 11000 inhabitants and around forty churches, but the earthquake destroyed everything.
The most important church, San Matteo (St. Matthew), collapsed and many monasteries and convents suffered the same tragic fate.
Only a few buildings remained standing. What could be done? It was time to act. In this case they chose not to abandon Scicli, but to rebuild it. The town was extended around the oldest area. New civic and religious buildings were built such as the Palazzo Beneventano and the church of San Giovanni Evangelista (St. John the Evangelist).
White limestone was used for the new buildings. A typical material of the area, it was easy to work and sculpt, and bestowed the landscape with a bright and brilliant appearance.
foto della città

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Wonderful quick decorations

A prominent church

A museum to save a tradition

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

The church of Carmine

The two churches

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A hall for the feasts

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A symbol for the town

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Some prestigious works

The theatre of taste

New roads for Catania

The city of museums

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Baroque town by the sea

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A new site for a new city

A small room with a golden entrance

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Burgos crucifix

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

The disastrous earthquake

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

One city, three sites

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The wall comes to life

A feast only for Scicli

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Prominent façade

The colours of the cathedral

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

One city, two sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

A miniature city

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Feasting in Palazzolo

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A Nobel Prize in Modica

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The chocolate of Modica

The interior and its masterpieces

The Maiolica of the staircase

Many owners, one palace

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

A talking palace

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

An eagle-shaped city

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Between white and black

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

From International Gothic to present day

Norman apses

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

A colourful floor

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A majestic and luminous church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Two illustrious patron saints

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

Feast days

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The Staircase of Angels

Searching for colour

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

A half-Baroque church

Discovering the mother church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A new site for a new church

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A triumph of colour

The internal colours