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 new site for a new church

Searching for colour

A small room with a golden entrance

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

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

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Discovering the mother church

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

A half-Baroque church

A symbol for the town

Some masterpieces

Feasting in Palazzolo

The church of Carmine

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A hall for the feasts

A miniature city

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Between white and black

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Staircase of Angels

Norman apses

The wall comes to life

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

One city, two sites

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A feast only for Scicli

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The city of museums

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

From International Gothic to present day

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

A talking palace

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A museum to save a tradition

New roads for Catania

Many owners, one palace

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The colours of the cathedral

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The two churches

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Feast days

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Burgos crucifix

The internal colours

The interior and its masterpieces

A prominent church

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The theatre of taste

A new site for a new city

A square as the heart of the city

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

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

The Baroque town by the sea

The disastrous earthquake

A colourful floor

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A triumph of colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Some prestigious works

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

A city in colour

Prominent façade

A majestic and luminous church

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

One city, three sites

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

An eagle-shaped city

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe