Caltagirone

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

sight
Infinite colours for a single staircase

scala-infisorata-caltagironeWow!
The Staircase of St. Mary of the Mountain during the town’s most important feasts is an exciting sight.
In May the taircase becomes a colourful carpet of plants and flowers that perfume the air and together create a spectacular design dedicated to the Madonna dei Conadomini.
But it doesn’t stop here! To celebrate St. James and the Assumption of Mary into Heaven, 4000 tea lights are lit, one by one, to form a unique design on the staircase!
All the inhabitants take part and thousands of people meet at the foot of the staircase, all looking for the best viewpoint.

smell
The scent of the feasts

In addition to its colours and lights during the two most important feasts, the Staircase of St. Mary of the Mountain is also filled with various scents.
The smell of flowers accompanies the feast dedicated to the Madonna Conadomini, while burning wax is the typical aroma for the celebrations of St. James and the Assumption of the Virgin.
The flames of 140 tea lights illuminate the staircase until they go out, giving way to a slight burning smell.

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A museum to save a tradition

Prominent façade

Limestone, the colour of harmony

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Burgos crucifix

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

A prominent church

The city of museums

A hall for the feasts

Feasting in Palazzolo

The theatre of taste

One city, three sites

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The internal colours

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A symbol for the town

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

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

A square as the heart of the city

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Some prestigious works

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

A majestic and luminous church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

One city, two sites

A talking palace

A triumph of colour

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A half-Baroque church

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

The colours of the cathedral

The two churches

A new site for a new city

Between white and black

New roads for Catania

A feast only for Scicli

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

A new site for a new church

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 Benedetto

Searching for colour

From International Gothic to present day

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The church of Carmine

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Norman apses

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Two illustrious patron saints

Wonderful quick decorations

A city in colour

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Feast days

A small room with a golden entrance

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The disastrous earthquake

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

An eagle-shaped city

The chocolate of Modica

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The wall comes to life

A miniature city

Discovering the mother church

Many owners, one palace

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

A long reconstruction

Some masterpieces

The interior and its masterpieces

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A colourful floor