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

The chocolate of Modica

A colourful floor

Searching for colour

A miniature city

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A museum to save a tradition

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The two churches

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A new site for a new city

The Baroque town by the sea

A hall for the feasts

Many owners, one palace

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The internal colours

The Burgos crucifix

Norman apses

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

The Staircase of Angels

The city of museums

A long reconstruction

A small room with a golden entrance

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A majestic and luminous church

A new site for a new church

A half-Baroque church

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A prominent church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

A triumph of colour

Between white and black

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Maiolica of the staircase

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

New roads for Catania

A symbol for the town

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

From International Gothic to present day

Prominent façade

Discovering the mother church

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A city in colour

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

The wall comes to life

A talking palace

The colours of the cathedral

The church of Carmine

Wonderful quick decorations

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Feasting in Palazzolo

Feast days

The disastrous earthquake

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

One city, three sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

One city, two sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

Two illustrious patron saints

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

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Some masterpieces

The theatre of taste

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Some prestigious works

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

An eagle-shaped city

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

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