Militello in Val di Catania

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

hearing
Sound on

The feast for the Holy Saviour of Militello involves its citizens and also attracts inhabitants from nearby villages and tourists: everyone is invited!
During the celebrations the most diverse sounds can be heard: cannon shots announcing the approaching feast; bells ringing to alert citizens of the beginning of the festivities; voices of the participants, the local band, and the prayers of the processions.
It’s impossible not to feel involved in the festivities, with each sound reminiscent of a precise moment.

sight
And then comes red…

The church interior looks like a white canvas with strokes of colour from the frescoes and stucco decorations that create plays of light and shadow.
The delicate white walls were combined with a white and grey chequered floor, with a geometric design formed of straight lines in an excellent contrast with the walls.
These delicate tones are enlivened during the feast of the Holy Saviour; long red drapes decorate the nave and the interior is transformed by colour!

smell
The memory of smell

The smell of the candle offered by the mayor and the scent of the flowers that adorn the streets are unmistakable, inevitable parts of the feast of the Holy Saviour.
These smells remain imprinted in the memory of young and old people alike, and whenever you catch a hint of them, they bring to mind moments of celebration and joy.

taste
Quince paste for the Holy Saviour

The feast of the Santissimo Salvatore (Holy Saviour) is also an opportunity to eat some typical sweets such as cognata (quince paste).
The recipe is very simple and requires only three ingredients: quince, sugar and lemon.
The ingredients are cooked using the same process as jam and placed in moulds for the mixture to solidify into a gelatinous consistency.
Special moulds in the shape of a globe with a cross on top are used for the feast of the Holy Saviour. La cotognata

The internal colours

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Between white and black

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

Norman apses

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A museum to save a tradition

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Some prestigious works

Prominent façade

A feast only for Scicli

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Some masterpieces

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Searching for colour

A new site for a new church

A city in colour

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A prominent church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The Staircase of Angels

A triumph of colour

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A long reconstruction

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

New roads for Catania

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

One city, three sites

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

Wonderful quick decorations

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

From International Gothic to present day

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The church of Carmine

A talking palace

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A square as the heart of the city

A symbol for the town

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The disastrous earthquake

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The two churches

A new site for a new city

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

The chocolate of Modica

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

A majestic and luminous church

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Discovering the mother church

An eagle-shaped city

The Maiolica of the staircase

A miniature city

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The colours of the cathedral

Feast days

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

Many owners, one palace

Two illustrious patron saints

The wall comes to life

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

One city, two sites

The interior and its masterpieces

A hall for the feasts

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The city of museums

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The theatre of taste

A small room with a golden entrance

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Baroque town by the sea

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Feasting in Palazzolo

A colourful floor