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 character of Badia Sant’Agata

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Staircase of Angels

The theatre of taste

Norman apses

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A feast only for Scicli

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

One city, two sites

The city of museums

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

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A talking palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A hall for the feasts

A new site for a new city

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A small room with a golden entrance

The disastrous earthquake

The internal colours

The interior and its masterpieces

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

New roads for Catania

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The colours of the cathedral

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Maiolica of the staircase

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Feast days

A symbol for the town

The chocolate of Modica

The wall comes to life

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Baroque town by the sea

A long reconstruction

A miniature city

A half-Baroque church

Some masterpieces

Between white and black

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Prominent façade

One city, three sites

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A museum to save a tradition

An eagle-shaped city

Searching for colour

From International Gothic to present day

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

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

A triumph of colour

Some prestigious works

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Burgos crucifix

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The two churches

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A majestic and luminous church

A prominent church

A colourful floor

Discovering the mother church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A city in colour

Wonderful quick decorations

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

A square as the heart of the city

Many owners, one palace

A new site for a new church

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The church of Carmine