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

Two illustrious patron saints

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A colourful floor

One city, three sites

A symbol for the town

A small room with a golden entrance

Norman apses

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

An eagle-shaped city

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Staircase of Angels

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A feast only for Scicli

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Wonderful quick decorations

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Searching for colour

A majestic and luminous church

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A talking palace

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Some prestigious works

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Prominent façade

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

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

Many owners, one palace

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A long reconstruction

A new site for a new city

Between white and black

A prominent church

A square as the heart of the city

St. Sebastian, so much work!

From International Gothic to present day

The chocolate of Modica

A hall for the feasts

Some masterpieces

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Burgos crucifix

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

The interior and its masterpieces

The church of Carmine

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A miniature city

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Feast days

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

New roads for Catania

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The city of museums

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

One city, two sites

The two churches

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The theatre of taste

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A city in colour

A new site for a new church

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The wall comes to life

The disastrous earthquake

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A triumph of colour

A museum to save a tradition