Catania

The theatre of taste

a piscariaA few metres from the cathedral, just past Porta Uzeda, is the fish market, “a piscaria”. It has been home to one of Catania’s historical markets since the early 19th century.
Modest in size, it is now a destination for fish connoisseurs and tourists.
Amidst the colours of red mullet and black mussel shells, the vendors’ shouts mingle with the smell.
Though rather strong and pungent, it’s definitely authentic and encourages visitors to take some fish home. Spices can also be found, to accompany the market purchases. Packaged in unidentified plastic bags, they tell a story of cultural influences steeped in past and present that reveal and release aromas of ancient origin. Observing in this way brings you closer to the beauty of these places.
The market of Catania is a theatre of taste, animated by the traders’ shouts, where you can revel in an atmosphere where time seems to stand still.

A talking palace

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A museum to save a tradition

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

The colours of the cathedral

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A prominent church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

Searching for colour

The internal colours

New roads for Catania

A new site for a new city

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A colourful floor

The Maiolica of the staircase

One city, three sites

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A half-Baroque church

A symbol for the town

The disastrous earthquake

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A city in colour

Prominent façade

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The church of Carmine

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The city of museums

A small room with a golden entrance

Many owners, one palace

The Burgos crucifix

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The chocolate of Modica

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The interior and its masterpieces

A feast only for Scicli

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The wall comes to life

Discovering the mother church

Some prestigious works

An eagle-shaped city

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

A majestic and luminous church

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Feasting in Palazzolo

Some masterpieces

A long reconstruction

Wonderful quick decorations

A new site for a new church

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Staircase of Angels

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

Between white and black

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

One city, two sites

A triumph of colour

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

Norman apses

The theatre of taste

St. Sebastian, so much work!

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A square as the heart of the city

The two churches

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Feast days

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A miniature city

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Baroque town by the sea

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Two illustrious patron saints

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