Caltagirone

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James) is one of the most important and heartfelt festivals in Caltagirone.
It is dedicated to the patron saint and lasts four days.
The festivities begin on the 23rd of July with fireworks and a concert. This is followed between the 24th and 25th by the illumination of the staircase and the majestic procession from San Giacomo to the town hall. The first official illumination was in 1703. On the evening of the 31st, the Relics and the Simulacrum of St. James are carried in procession and can be admired until the 1st of August when they are returned to the church.
The saint’s statue is carried around the entire town and always takes the same route. The festival has very ancient origins; it began in 1090!
It has been celebrated every year since. Over the centuries, things have inevitably changed, but not the spirit of the participants.

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The city of museums

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A miniature city

The disastrous earthquake

One city, three sites

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A symbol for the town

The theatre of taste

The façade used as a puppet theatre

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Between white and black

The chocolate of Modica

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

A new site for a new city

A new site for a new church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A colourful floor

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A majestic and luminous church

One city, two sites

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

The church of Carmine

The colours of the cathedral

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

From International Gothic to present day

The two churches

An eagle-shaped city

A city in colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Some prestigious works

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

A triumph of colour

Modica, a city with ancient origins

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Wonderful quick decorations

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Staircase of Angels

Norman apses

Feast days

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

Prominent façade

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

Some masterpieces

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The wall comes to life

A talking palace

The Maiolica of the staircase

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

New roads for Catania

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A small room with a golden entrance

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Baroque town by the sea

A feast only for Scicli

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Discovering the mother church

Many owners, one palace

The interior and its masterpieces

A museum to save a tradition

A square as the heart of the city

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Two illustrious patron saints

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A half-Baroque church

A hall for the feasts

The Burgos crucifix

The internal colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Searching for colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A prominent church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Feasting in Palazzolo