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

The Staircase of Angels

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The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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The church of Carmine

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The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Some prestigious works

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A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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An eagle-shaped city

Feast days

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A square as the heart of the city

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Many owners, one palace

A city in colour

Some masterpieces

Two illustrious patron saints

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Prominent façade

The chocolate of Modica

The wall comes to life

New roads for Catania

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Norman apses

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The disastrous earthquake

A new site for a new church

A half-Baroque church

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

A long reconstruction

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Burgos crucifix

The internal colours

One city, two sites

Feasting in Palazzolo

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A prominent church

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Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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A miniature city

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

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

The interior and its masterpieces

The two churches

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A feast only for Scicli

A hall for the feasts

The theatre of taste

A symbol for the town

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

The Baroque town by the sea

The city of museums

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A majestic and luminous church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Wonderful quick decorations

St. Sebastian, so much work!

One city, three sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Discovering the mother church

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From International Gothic to present day

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

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Between white and black

A museum to save a tradition

A colourful floor

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

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

The colours of the cathedral

A small room with a golden entrance

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Limestone, the colour of harmony

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto