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.

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

From International Gothic to present day

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

The interior and its masterpieces

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

A talking palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Feast days

Wonderful quick decorations

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A half-Baroque church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A majestic and luminous church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The façade used as a puppet theatre

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A prominent church

The city of museums

A small room with a golden entrance

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The wall comes to life

A new site for a new city

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Between white and black

Some prestigious works

A miniature city

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The Baroque town by the sea

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A symbol for the town

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A colourful floor

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

The disastrous earthquake

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A feast only for Scicli

One city, three sites

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Some masterpieces

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

Two illustrious patron saints

The two churches

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A triumph of colour

The church of Carmine

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Limestone, the colour of harmony

An eagle-shaped city

Discovering the mother church

The Burgos crucifix

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A square as the heart of the city

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

A museum to save a tradition

A city in colour

The internal colours

Prominent façade

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Maiolica of the staircase

Feasting in Palazzolo

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Staircase of Angels

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

One city, two sites

Searching for colour

Norman apses

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

New roads for Catania

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The colours of the cathedral

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The theatre of taste

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

A long reconstruction

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The chocolate of Modica

A new site for a new church