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 new site for a new church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A majestic and luminous church

A hall for the feasts

A feast only for Scicli

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A talking palace

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Two illustrious patron saints

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A miniature city

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A museum to save a tradition

The wall comes to life

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Modica, a city with ancient origins

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Feast days

The colours of the cathedral

The chocolate of Modica

The Staircase of Angels

The Baroque town by the sea

An eagle-shaped city

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A symbol for the town

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

The city of museums

One city, three sites

One city, two sites

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Burgos crucifix

A half-Baroque church

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The theatre of taste

A prominent church

The two churches

The disastrous earthquake

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Feasting in Palazzolo

The internal colours

Searching for colour

New roads for Catania

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A square as the heart of the city

Norman apses

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

Some prestigious works

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

A city in colour

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

Prominent façade

Discovering the mother church

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

Some masterpieces

A long reconstruction

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Maiolica of the staircase

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The interior and its masterpieces

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

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

The church of Carmine

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A triumph of colour

A small room with a golden entrance

From International Gothic to present day

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A colourful floor

Between white and black