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

An eagle-shaped city

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

A half-Baroque church

Feast days

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

A miniature city

The two churches

Feasting in Palazzolo

From International Gothic to present day

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Two illustrious patron saints

Between white and black

A feast only for Scicli

A hall for the feasts

A triumph of colour

The disastrous earthquake

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Searching for colour

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Burgos crucifix

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The colours of the cathedral

The internal colours

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A long reconstruction

A square as the heart of the city

Many owners, one palace

New roads for Catania

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

Prominent façade

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A new site for a new city

A symbol for the town

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

The city of museums

A city in colour

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

A talking palace

The Staircase of Angels

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Norman apses

Discovering the mother church

The theatre of taste

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A museum to save a tradition

One city, two sites

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Maiolica of the staircase

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Baroque town by the sea

The chocolate of Modica

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Limestone, the colour of harmony

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A prominent church

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A colourful floor

A small room with a golden entrance

One city, three sites

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Some prestigious works

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A new site for a new church

The church of Carmine

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Some masterpieces

Wonderful quick decorations

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A majestic and luminous church