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.

The façade used as a puppet theatre

New roads for Catania

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A small room with a golden entrance

A talking palace

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

The city of museums

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A new site for a new church

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

Feast days

A city in colour

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The church of Carmine

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Norman apses

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

Discovering the mother church

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A square as the heart of the city

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A miniature city

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A triumph of colour

Many owners, one palace

A prominent church

The two churches

Wonderful quick decorations

The Burgos crucifix

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A symbol for the town

The internal colours

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

From International Gothic to present day

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

The Staircase of Angels

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Prominent façade

A museum to save a tradition

A new site for a new city

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A long reconstruction

Some prestigious works

The interior and its masterpieces

A colourful floor

The Baroque town by the sea

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

An eagle-shaped city

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

One city, two sites

The chocolate of Modica

A majestic and luminous church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The wall comes to life

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

One city, three sites

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Between white and black

Some masterpieces

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

A hall for the feasts

The colours of the cathedral

The disastrous earthquake

The theatre of taste

Searching for colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe