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

Wonderful quick decorations

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Prominent façade

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A miniature city

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

An eagle-shaped city

Feast days

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Discovering the mother church

The Burgos crucifix

One city, three sites

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Some masterpieces

The theatre of taste

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Baroque town by the sea

The Maiolica of the staircase

Some prestigious works

A prominent church

The colours of the cathedral

A talking palace

The church of Carmine

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

New roads for Catania

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

A feast only for Scicli

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A half-Baroque church

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A symbol for the town

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The disastrous earthquake

The two churches

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

One city, two sites

A triumph of colour

The chocolate of Modica

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

The internal colours

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Between white and black

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Staircase of Angels

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

Many owners, one palace

The interior and its masterpieces

A small room with a golden entrance

Norman apses

The city of museums

A new site for a new city

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The wall comes to life

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

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A majestic and luminous church

A new site for a new church

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

A colourful floor

A hall for the feasts

Searching for colour

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Two illustrious patron saints

A long reconstruction

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)