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 senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The colours of the cathedral

A feast only for Scicli

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Norman apses

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

Between white and black

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

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A small room with a golden entrance

A miniature city

A half-Baroque church

A city in colour

One city, three sites

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The wall comes to life

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A majestic and luminous church

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Baroque town by the sea

A new site for a new church

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

A colourful floor

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A new site for a new city

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The theatre of taste

One city, two sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

Wonderful quick decorations

The façade used as a puppet theatre

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A square as the heart of the city

A long reconstruction

A museum to save a tradition

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A triumph of colour

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Staircase of Angels

A prominent church

Feasting in Palazzolo

Feast days

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The two churches

A symbol for the town

Discovering the mother church

A talking palace

Prominent façade

The city of museums

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The Burgos crucifix

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

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

Some prestigious works

The church of Carmine

An eagle-shaped city

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

From International Gothic to present day

Searching for colour

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The disastrous earthquake

A hall for the feasts

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Two illustrious patron saints

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Maiolica of the staircase

New roads for Catania

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The internal colours

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

The interior and its masterpieces

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Many owners, one palace

Some masterpieces