Catania

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

sight
Panoramic views to contemplate beauty

The Badia di Sant’Agata (St. Agatha’s Abbey) offers many panoramic viewpoints for contemplating the beauty of the entire historic centre. It’s certainly worth taking the long staircase that leads to the upper terraces and the walkway that surrounds the dome.
From here you can admire the entire city: the Bellini Theatre, the Cathedral, the Ursino Castle, the churches of Via Crociferi and all the artistic marvels that the city of Catania has to offer.
zoom cupola panoramica dalla cupola

smell
The scent of wax

The smell of wax is one of the most characteristic scents within the church and in the streets of Catania during the celebrations of the patron saint.
Votive candles are still produced today in Catania’s artisanal workshops using techniques and raw materials steeped in ancient knowledge.
There were originally two types of candles: those made with beeswax, which were more refined and expensive, and those made with animal fat, which were far cheaper but gave off an unpleasant smell and smoke.

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

A stone garden

A casket of precious works

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Church of St. Benedict

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

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The freedom of worship and the Catholic Church’s role in the diffusion of Baroque

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

The works in the church

The interior and works of art

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

The Staircase of Angels

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

Views denied, views conquered: the power of the devout Benedictines

The Church of St. Francis

Religious architecture

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Duomo di San Giorgio (Cathedral of St. George)

The palace, the town, the church

Barresi-Branciforte: the lords of the fiefdom and the modernisation of the town

City and nature

The interior of the church: space and colour

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

The senses tell the story of the Sanctuary Church of Santa Maria della Stella

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

The church and the college

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

A heritage of votive works

The Palazzo dei due mori

The casket of austerity under the great dome

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

The church and the monastery

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

Art in the cathedral

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

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

St. Agatha and the candelore

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Carlo and the former Jesuit college

The church of San Nicolò l’Arena: the majesty of an unfinished beauty

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

The Church of St. Paul

Piazza Duomo, the elephant fountain, the heart of the city

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

Geometry and wonder in civic architecture in the Baroque of the Val di Noto

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

A unifying project for the city of Catania

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

One city, three sites

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

The Benedictines’ library

The city within the city

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

The Franciscan convent

Reconstruction after the earthquake

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

The eagle-shaped city

The city palace

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

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

The two churches

The Church of Madonna della Stella

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

The expansion of space and changing reality

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

Luminous sacred spaces

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

Verticality and dynamism of the façade of the Church of San Carlo

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

The Badia di Sant’Agata (St. Agatha’s Abbey)

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

The new roads of the city

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

The senses tell the Benedictine Monastery and the Church of San Nicolò l’Arena

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

The articulated interior spaces

The art of maiolica

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

Altars, saints and sculptural works