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.

The Maiolica of the staircase

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Feast days

The church of Carmine

The Baroque town by the sea

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Norman apses

A new site for a new church

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

Prominent façade

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The interior and its masterpieces

From International Gothic to present day

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The internal colours

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

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A miniature city

A talking palace

A prominent church

The chocolate of Modica

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A feast only for Scicli

Two illustrious patron saints

Searching for colour

Many owners, one palace

Connections with other UNESCO sites

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A hall for the feasts

The Burgos crucifix

Limestone, the colour of harmony

One city, two sites

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Discovering the mother church

A colourful floor

A new site for a new city

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A half-Baroque church

A museum to save a tradition

A symbol for the town

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The disastrous earthquake

Between white and black

The colours of the cathedral

The Staircase of Angels

Some masterpieces

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The city of museums

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

One city, three sites

A small room with a golden entrance

Wonderful quick decorations

The theatre of taste

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The wall comes to life

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

New roads for Catania

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A majestic and luminous church

An eagle-shaped city

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A triumph of colour

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The two churches

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Feasting in Palazzolo

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Some prestigious works

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A city in colour

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras