Caltagirone

A long reconstruction

The church of Santa Chiara (St. Claire) is located in the eastern part of the town on Via Giovanni Bosco, not far from the church of Gesù (Jesus).
Legend has it that it was St. Claire who had both the church and monastery built. Unfortunately, nothing has been preserved of the ancient structures.
The earthquake of 1693 damaged both buildings. Reconstruction was not immediate, but had to wait until 1740. In that year the abbess explained to the Bishop of Syracuse, Matteo Trigona, that it was necessary to intervene since the state and condition of the structures were badly damaged. The Bishop commissioned a group of experts to oversee the reconstruction, but money soon ran out.
Everything changed in 1743, when the Bishop announced that the works would resume during his visit to Caltagirone.
The project was entrusted to one of the best architects of the time, Rosario Gagliardi .
A church was built with a plan in the shape of an irregular octagon, with a narrow, long façade that swelled outwards like a sort of belly.
The façade also has only one entrance door enclosed at the sides by two giant order columns and on top by a tympanum , not with a continuous line, but a broken one.
Inside, the splendid maiolica , flooring is striking. Green, blue and yellow accompany worshippers up to the balustrade, which is also made with maiolica tiles from Caltagirone.
foto prospetto foto Facciata dettaglio timpano edicola foto Dettagli della decorazione

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Searching for colour

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The façade used as a puppet theatre

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A small room with a golden entrance

A feast only for Scicli

The city of museums

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A symbol for the town

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Feasting in Palazzolo

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A miniature city

The internal colours

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The wall comes to life

The two churches

Two illustrious patron saints

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Prominent façade

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Many owners, one palace

A majestic and luminous church

A colourful floor

From International Gothic to present day

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The theatre of taste

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

A half-Baroque church

A prominent church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A new site for a new church

A long reconstruction

Some prestigious works

A museum to save a tradition

Feast days

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

One city, three sites

A hall for the feasts

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

Between white and black

The Baroque town by the sea

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

The church of Carmine

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

The Staircase of Angels

One city, two sites

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A talking palace

The interior and its masterpieces

A triumph of colour

A square as the heart of the city

Wonderful quick decorations

The disastrous earthquake

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

A city in colour

A new site for a new city

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Maiolica of the staircase

An eagle-shaped city

The colours of the cathedral

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Norman apses

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

The chocolate of Modica

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

New roads for Catania