Militello in Val di Catania

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

During the feudal dominion of the Barresi-Branciforte family, the town of Militello in Val di Catania underwent remarkable restoration and reorganisation.
The enlightened prince Francesco Branciforte married Joanna of Austria, granddaughter of Charles V and cousin of the King of Spain, then launched an urbanisation plan to redesign the small town and adapt it to new cultural and political needs. The town’s transformations included one that involved the fortified castle, which was turned into a palace and equipped in 1612 with a well-stocked library , printing house and a sort of chemical laboratory. foto castello barresi branciforte
A public fountain was later built in the castle’s courtyard.
The square of the mother church was updated in 1617 alongside the two main streets in the centre of Militello, which were widened and straightened.
Connecting roads were also built outside the former perimeter walls, which encouraged the creation of new districts.
The powerful family also promoted patronage and funded the reconstruction of the bell tower of the Chiesa Madre di San Nicolò (Mother Church of St. Nicholas) and the extension of the Church of Santa Maria (St. Mary), which became the Barresi family’s burial place in the 16th century.

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

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

Wonderful quick decorations

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

One city, two sites

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

The Burgos crucifix

A prominent church

A majestic and luminous church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A new site for a new church

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Discovering the mother church

One city, three sites

A square as the heart of the city

Prominent façade

A new site for a new city

The church of Carmine

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The disastrous earthquake

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The internal colours

The Maiolica of the staircase

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The theatre of taste

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Between white and black

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Some masterpieces

Some prestigious works

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Feast days

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Two illustrious patron saints

Feasting in Palazzolo

A long reconstruction

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Searching for colour

A museum to save a tradition

The chocolate of Modica

A small room with a golden entrance

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The Staircase of Angels

A city in colour

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A hall for the feasts

The two churches

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The city of museums

A feast only for Scicli

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A miniature city

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

From International Gothic to present day

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Norman apses

An eagle-shaped city

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

A triumph of colour

The colours of the cathedral

A talking palace

The Baroque town by the sea

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

A colourful floor

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Many owners, one palace

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A half-Baroque church

A symbol for the town