Catania

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

sight
What a view!

If we climbed the steps leading to the terrace above the abbey of St. Agatha, perhaps we would be a little tired or out of breath, but there would be a splendid landscape before us.
The entire city can be seen from here: the Bellini Theatre, the Cathedral, the Ursino Castle, the churches on Via Crociferi and the great Benedictine monastery.
The cloistered nuns (who never left the monastery) used this terrace to participate in city life and attend processions without being seen.

smell
The scent of church candles

The smell of wax is one of the most characteristic scents inside a church and in the streets of Catania during the patron saint’s celebrations.
Votive candles are still produced today in Catania’s artisanal workshops using techniques and raw materials steeped in ancient knowledge.
There were originally two types of candles: those made with beeswax, which were more refined and expensive, and those made with animal fat, which were far cheaper but gave off an unpleasant smell and smoke.

A new site for a new city

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Wonderful quick decorations

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The disastrous earthquake

A hall for the feasts

A talking palace

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Prominent façade

One city, two sites

Between white and black

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

Many owners, one palace

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A long reconstruction

A square as the heart of the city

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

The interior and its masterpieces

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

The wall comes to life

The internal colours

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Some masterpieces

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A colourful floor

The city of museums

A Nobel Prize in Modica

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

An eagle-shaped city

A symbol for the town

A triumph of colour

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A majestic and luminous church

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A city in colour

A half-Baroque church

The Burgos crucifix

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Some prestigious works

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The colours of the cathedral

Discovering the mother church

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Staircase of Angels

Searching for colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

From International Gothic to present day

The Baroque town by the sea

A prominent church

New roads for Catania

The two churches

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A feast only for Scicli

Two illustrious patron saints

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The theatre of taste

A miniature city

Norman apses

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

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

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

Feast days

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

The church of Carmine

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

A museum to save a tradition

Feasting in Palazzolo

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A new site for a new church

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The chocolate of Modica

One city, three sites

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento