Catania

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

sight
Brightness and light

Colour, light and more colour!
The vault is a riot of colour, capable of making the figures and shapes stand out, and leaving visitors gazing upwards.
As for the altar, it attracts attention thanks to the brilliance and shine of gold, silver and the precious sparkling stones used to decorate it.
The church is a treasure trove of precious jewels.

hearing
A sound to accompany prayer

It’s 1790 and you’re inside the church of St. Benedict, attending one of the services… You can hear something… what is it?
The organ!
With a sound alternating between gentle and low, it accompanies prayer as impressed worshippers celebrate Holy Mass.
Then the bells announce the end of the service.
Their chimes vibrate in the atmosphere and resonate along Via dei Crociferi.

A symbol for the town

A majestic and luminous church

Feast days

A half-Baroque church

The church of Carmine

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

One city, two sites

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The two churches

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

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

A new site for a new city

The city of museums

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Maiolica of the staircase

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The internal colours

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A triumph of colour

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Some masterpieces

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A new site for a new church

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

The disastrous earthquake

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

An eagle-shaped city

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

A prominent church

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The chocolate of Modica

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A hall for the feasts

The Burgos crucifix

Norman apses

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Baroque town by the sea

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A talking palace

Discovering the mother church

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A city in colour

Feasting in Palazzolo

The colours of the cathedral

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A small room with a golden entrance

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Modica, a city with ancient origins

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Two illustrious patron saints

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The interior and its masterpieces

The wall comes to life

One city, three sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

Between white and black

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Many owners, one palace

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A miniature city

The theatre of taste

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Searching for colour

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

The Staircase of Angels

A colourful floor

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

Some prestigious works

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

A long reconstruction

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A square as the heart of the city

Prominent façade

A museum to save a tradition

A feast only for Scicli

Wonderful quick decorations

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca