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.

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

A feast only for Scicli

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The two churches

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

The city of museums

A square as the heart of the city

A new site for a new church

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Some prestigious works

Prominent façade

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Two illustrious patron saints

A new site for a new city

New roads for Catania

Between white and black

Wonderful quick decorations

Searching for colour

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

One city, two sites

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Feast days

The Staircase of Angels

A triumph of colour

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

From International Gothic to present day

Discovering the mother church

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The church of Carmine

An eagle-shaped city

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

A majestic and luminous church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The chocolate of Modica

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

The internal colours

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A long reconstruction

The disastrous earthquake

The Burgos crucifix

A prominent church

A small room with a golden entrance

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A miniature city

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Feasting in Palazzolo

A talking palace

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A colourful floor

The theatre of taste

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Some masterpieces

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A half-Baroque church

The colours of the cathedral

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

One city, three sites

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Norman apses

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Maiolica of the staircase

A symbol for the town

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A hall for the feasts

The wall comes to life

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A city in colour

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

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

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto