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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Some prestigious works

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A half-Baroque church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A prominent church

A small room with a golden entrance

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

A triumph of colour

The Baroque town by the sea

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A feast only for Scicli

An eagle-shaped city

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

The church of Carmine

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

One city, two sites

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Prominent façade

A symbol for the town

The theatre of taste

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Two illustrious patron saints

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A miniature city

One city, three sites

Discovering the mother church

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

A city in colour

A new site for a new city

Norman apses

The wall comes to life

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The city of museums

Feast days

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

Many owners, one palace

A square as the heart of the city

A museum to save a tradition

The two churches

Between white and black

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The chocolate of Modica

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A long reconstruction

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Some masterpieces

Wonderful quick decorations

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The interior and its masterpieces

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A colourful floor

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The disastrous earthquake

New roads for Catania

The Burgos crucifix

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A new site for a new church

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A talking palace

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

Searching for colour

The internal colours

The Maiolica of the staircase

The Staircase of Angels

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A hall for the feasts

The colours of the cathedral