The patron saint of Giarratana is Saint Bartholomew the Apostle, main patron «ab antiquo»: as early as 1308 the Vatican cited the town because the ancient church dedicated to him contributed to the tithe, the old medieval tax. The celebrations in his honour begin on 16 August, when the sound of hand-rung bells and 24 cannon shots announce the descent of the statue litter, which leaves the chapel of the high altar of the church of San Bartolomeo to be placed in the central nave: the centuries-old feast has been included in the register of intangible heritage of the Sicilian Region. Its spectacular nature is due to the steep flight of nineteen steps that the bearers must face to reach street level, where the townspeople greet the patron with the cry «Autu ù patronu»; the procession, accompanied by prayers and band marches, is marked by the sound of a silver bell announcing its passage through the streets of the old quarter, ù cuozzu.
In 1400, after Giarratana's participation in the revolt against King Martin I alongside Bernardo Cabrera, the fief became part of the County of Modica and was later sold to the Settimo family, of Pisan origin, under whose lordship the town's importance grew considerably: in 1600 Pope Alexander VII sold the body of Saint Hilaria to the lords of Giarratana, actually purchased in Rome before 1667 by the priest Antonio Distefano and still kept in the age-old church of San Bartolomeo. The new Giarratana was officially born on 26 August 1693, after the earthquake, when Donna Pasqua sold to the town's jurors the hill on which today's town stands: the churches were the first to be rebuilt, in the same position as the pre-earthquake settlement, with the basilica of Sant'Antonio abate to the north, the church of San Bartolomeo to the south and the mother church, dedicated to Mary Most Holy Annunciate and Saint Joseph, at the centre. The co-patroness of Giarratana is Mary Most Holy of the Snow, celebrated on 5 August with a procession setting out from the church of Sant'Antonio Abate.
