Caltagirone

A museum to save a tradition

In 1965, the Museum of Ceramics was founded in order to save a centuries-old tradition. Located on one of the main streets, Via Roma, the location was refurbished before the inauguration.
It has a special entrance, a 19th-century portico that rests on a tall raised structure accessed by a series of staircases. The maiolica decorations make it extra special, embellishing and adding colour to the façade.
The museum contains pottery from the Greek age until the beginning of the 20th century, including collections of Arab, Norman, Suevian and Aragonese artefacts.

foto ceramiche in ordine di descrizione per periodo

foto ceramiche in ordine di descrizione per periodo foto ceramiche in ordine di descrizione per periodo
The pottery is exhibited in four large rooms, where there are around 2500 artefacts and work from the ancient, medieval, post-medieval and modern worlds. The collections mostly come from the Civic Museum of Caltagirone and the “ Luigi Sturzo “, State Institute of Art for Ceramics, but also from other Sicilian museums such as the Russo-Perez collection or from private collectors including Professor Antonino Ragona.

A majestic and luminous church

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The internal colours

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

New roads for Catania

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

From International Gothic to present day

The Staircase of Angels

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Two illustrious patron saints

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A half-Baroque church

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A talking palace

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A colourful floor

The Baroque town by the sea

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

The interior and its masterpieces

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

A hall for the feasts

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A small room with a golden entrance

The theatre of taste

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Between white and black

A new site for a new city

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

Norman apses

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A square as the heart of the city

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A symbol for the town

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

Discovering the mother church

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

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

A new site for a new church

Many owners, one palace

A long reconstruction

The colours of the cathedral

The disastrous earthquake

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

Some masterpieces

One city, three sites

The wall comes to life

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A feast only for Scicli

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

Wonderful quick decorations

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Feast days

A museum to save a tradition

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Searching for colour

A miniature city

A triumph of colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Prominent façade

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Maiolica of the staircase

The church of Carmine

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The city of museums

Some prestigious works

One city, two sites

The two churches

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A prominent church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Burgos crucifix