Catania

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

One of the most evocative rooms of the monastery is the kitchen.
foto cucina della portaLike the refectory, antirefectory, library and museum, the space dedicated to preparing food was designed by Giovan Battista Vaccarini and its construction began in 1739.
foto cucina dei benedettiniThe architect had to take into account the rules of monastic architecture, which meant separating the kitchen from the other rooms. This way, if there was a fire, it would not spread to the other rooms.
Similarly, the passageways leading to the refectory as well as being narrow were equipped with multiple barriers.
The kitchen underwent various changes over the years, but the structure has remained the same with the hearths in the centre, a huge brazier placed in an octagonal “chamber”.
The maiolica decorations that enrich the structure create splendid orange and blue squares with a white background of abstract motifs. The floor is just as surprising. Also made with colourful maiolica tiles, it extends across the whole room. However, the floor is not simple or uniform; it is divided into eight parts with two different alternating decorations.
The first is a white floor with fine blue, black and yellow geometric decorations that cover the smaller portions; the other is larger and more colourful, where yellow and green dominate the blue, orange and white decoration. foto Dettaglio maioliche

A long reconstruction

Feasting in Palazzolo

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A city in colour

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A small room with a golden entrance

The two churches

Prominent façade

The Burgos crucifix

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

A square as the heart of the city

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

Feast days

A colourful floor

The interior and its masterpieces

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Norman apses

One city, two sites

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

From International Gothic to present day

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Staircase of Angels

A miniature city

The chocolate of Modica

Between white and black

Wonderful quick decorations

New roads for Catania

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A new site for a new church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A hall for the feasts

A majestic and luminous church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

Two illustrious patron saints

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

The internal colours

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

The theatre of taste

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Some masterpieces

A new site for a new city

The wall comes to life

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Maiolica of the staircase

A symbol for the town

Discovering the mother church

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

An eagle-shaped city

The city of museums

Many owners, one palace

A prominent church

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A talking palace

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A triumph of colour

The Baroque town by the sea

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

One city, three sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Searching for colour

A half-Baroque church

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The colours of the cathedral

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Some prestigious works

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The church of Carmine

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A feast only for Scicli

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)