Experience Sicily

Tag: chiesa

  • Modica’s Saint Peter’s

    Modica’s Duomo di San Pietro was built in the 18th century. We arrived here this evening in time for dinner and to enjoy the town’s baroque beauties such as this one lit up at night.

  • Holy Week Preview

    This week leading up to Easter Sunday is Holy Week or “La settimana santa.” In Sicily, many, many towns celebrate various sacred rites each day of the week, the height of which are practiced on Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Such practices date back centuries and are rooted in deep tradition. For example, in Enna…

  • I Duomo

    Church dome (duomo) with majolica tiles, Cathedral of San Lorenzo, Trapani.

  • Madonna and Child

    Madonna and Child set in the midst of the Baroque church San Giuseppe dei Teatini in Palermo.

  • A Colorful Steeple

    Castelbuono is a beautiful medieval town in the Madonie Mountains. This bell tower pictured is from one of the town’s churches–perhaps built in the 14th century. It is decorated with colorful majolica tiles. This time of year, the Comune di Castelbuono sponsors a series of events for the Christmas and New Year holidays, starting this…

  • Kalsa’s Magione

    “La Magione” basilica in the originally-Arab Kalsa district of Palermo is another example of Norman-Arab architecture. Built around 1190, it is one of the oldest churches in Palermo. It’s proper name is the Basilica of the Holy Trinity of the Chancellor. It came to be commonly known as La Magione because “magione” translates to “mansion.”…

  • Tindari’s Sanctuary of the Black Madonna

    September 8 is the feast day in honor of the Black Madonna of Tindari. The spectacular and colorful Sanctuary, “il Santuario della Madonna del Tindari,” pictured, was built in the 20th century to accommodate the flow of pilgrims coming to see the iconic statue of the “Madonna Bruna,” which sports an inscription, “Nigra Sum Sed…

  • Richly Sculpted Surfaces Ahead

    The dizzying Baroque decorations of the Church of Santa Caterina (1580-1596) on Palermo’s Piazza Bellini feature multicolored marble inlay and lots of curves.

  • San Cataldo in Palermo Boasts Spellbinding Mosaics

    The inlaid floor of Chiesa Capitolare di San Cataldo in Palermo is a spectacular example of Arab and Norman architectural and decorative styles. Stone and marble pieces create spellbinding pavement mosaics. The church was built in the 1150s by Maio of Bari, William I’s top emir, or commander.