Palazzolo Acreide

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

sight
Infinite lights and colours

How wonderful!
The light and colours inside the church of San Sebastiano leave everyone breathless!
The crystal chandeliers shine and the surfaces around them reflect and light up in turn.
The marble columns shine and the blue, green and yellow stained glass windows filter warm rays of sunshine.
Full of colour, the church interior is tinged with black and white from the floor, accompanied by the yellow and light grey of the columns, and the white and gold of the walls. navata laterale lampadari accesi

hearing
21 cannon shots

The feast of San Sebastiano is an important moment for all worshippers and the whole country. Citizens gather together to honour the patron saint.
Every year on 10th August at 8:15 am, twenty-one cannon shots precede the departure of the bread cart, accompanied by music, for the traditional collection of “cuddure” (ring-shaped biscuits), offered to St. Sebastian.
Loud noises, firecrackers, music, voices and shouting can be heard early in the morning.

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A city in colour

Prominent façade

A triumph of colour

Some prestigious works

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A half-Baroque church

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The Burgos crucifix

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

A new site for a new church

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

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

An eagle-shaped city

The city of museums

One city, two sites

The colours of the cathedral

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The interior and its masterpieces

The disastrous earthquake

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

New roads for Catania

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The internal colours

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

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A prominent church

Between white and black

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A colourful floor

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A hall for the feasts

The wall comes to life

The theatre of taste

One city, three sites

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A feast only for Scicli

The chocolate of Modica

The Staircase of Angels

A museum to save a tradition

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Wonderful quick decorations

Searching for colour

The Baroque town by the sea

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

From International Gothic to present day

Many owners, one palace

The church of Carmine

Two illustrious patron saints

A symbol for the town

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A majestic and luminous church

A long reconstruction

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Maiolica of the staircase

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A small room with a golden entrance

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A square as the heart of the city

Discovering the mother church

A talking palace

Norman apses

A miniature city

The two churches

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Some masterpieces

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

Feast days

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A new site for a new city

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