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.

Feast days

A small room with a golden entrance

A majestic and luminous church

A city in colour

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A half-Baroque church

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A long reconstruction

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Maiolica of the staircase

Searching for colour

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Prominent façade

Many owners, one palace

An eagle-shaped city

Feasting in Palazzolo

The chocolate of Modica

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Burgos crucifix

The wall comes to life

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The city of museums

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A colourful floor

The theatre of taste

The Staircase of Angels

Between white and black

The interior and its masterpieces

Norman apses

The colours of the cathedral

The disastrous earthquake

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A museum to save a tradition

A symbol for the town

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The internal colours

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Some masterpieces

A feast only for Scicli

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Some prestigious works

A triumph of colour

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The two churches

A new site for a new city

One city, two sites

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

One city, three sites

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A prominent church

The Baroque town by the sea

A new site for a new church

A miniature city

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

Discovering the mother church

A hall for the feasts

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A talking palace

The church of Carmine

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

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

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Two illustrious patron saints