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 hall for the feasts

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A miniature city

Some prestigious works

The Baroque town by the sea

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

Discovering the mother church

A talking palace

A museum to save a tradition

The wall comes to life

A half-Baroque church

A new site for a new church

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Many owners, one palace

A new site for a new city

A city in colour

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

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

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

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A triumph of colour

The two churches

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Some masterpieces

The theatre of taste

Two illustrious patron saints

Searching for colour

The Burgos crucifix

A prominent church

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

One city, two sites

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A colourful floor

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

The disastrous earthquake

Feasting in Palazzolo

A long reconstruction

A small room with a golden entrance

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Prominent façade

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Maiolica of the staircase

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Norman apses

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A square as the heart of the city

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

Between white and black

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

The city of museums

The internal colours

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A majestic and luminous church

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Feast days

Wonderful quick decorations

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

One city, three sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The church of Carmine

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

From International Gothic to present day

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The chocolate of Modica

An eagle-shaped city

A feast only for Scicli

A symbol for the town

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours