Floridia – Baroque Sacred Architecture, Museums and Sicilian Traditions

Floridia combines impressive sacred architecture, unusual museums and lively local customs. If you would like to get to know Sicily not only through its landscapes, but also through its history, crafts and festivals, the town offers several distinctive points of interest. Particularly interesting is the combination of historic buildings, contemporary art and traditions that become visible during events in public spaces.

Churches and Museums with Their Own Character

The Chiesa del Carmine is an example of Baroque sacred architecture. Beneath the church is a crypt with an altar and three ossuaries. The Chiesa Madre focuses on a different historical period: its construction was financed in 1748 by Duke Ignazio Migliaccio, and a few years later it was built on the present-day Piazza del Popolo. The church’s three entrance portals were created between 2003 and 2004. They were made by the sculptor Romeo Sandrin, who came from Padua.

The ethnographic Museo etnografico „Nunzio Bruno“ focuses on the working lives of farm laborers and craftspeople on the Iblean Plateau. The museum is housed in a building formed by combining the former district prison with the former Carabinieri barracks. As a result, the documented ways of life of the region meet a place with a history of its own. The collection also includes the traditional Floridian bread shape known as „a chicco di grano“.

The Museo Francesco Lombardo di Giuseppe is a private museum in Floridia. Giuseppe Lombardo founded it in 2010 in memory of Francesco Lombardo. On display are handcrafted rocking horses, „irti“, carts and carriages, as well as masks called „facceri“. The collection thus focuses on handcrafted objects and items associated with festivals, which clearly differ from a conventional art collection.

You can find modern and contemporary art at the Galleria civica di arte moderna e contemporanea. It is located on the piano nobile of the historic Palazzo „Raeli“ in the heart of Floridia’s old town. Significant works by the Floridia-born artists Antonio Brancato, Tano Brancato, Lino Tinè and Turi Volanti are on permanent display; they are regarded as internationally renowned painters and sculptors. In Floridia, sacred buildings, ethnographic evidence and art in a historic palazzo thus complement one another.

Festivals, Horses and a Special September Evening

The Ascensione week includes a bareback horse race held along the town’s main street. The horses are also blessed in the forecourt of the Chiesa Madre. The Festa dell'Ascensione thus combines a public competition with a religiously inspired custom.

Another local tradition is Scialacori, the Floridian Notte bianca. The festival evening brings nighttime activities to the historic center and takes place on the first weekend of September.

More Destinations for Your Sicily Research

You can also compare Priolo Gargallo, Ferla, Terrauzza, Pachino, Portopalo Di Capo Passero, Plemmirio, Melilli and Villasmundo as additional destinations.

For the overarching travel overview: Syracuse.