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 internal colours

A triumph of colour

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The church of Carmine

Some masterpieces

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A new site for a new city

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The theatre of taste

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A small room with a golden entrance

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Some prestigious works

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A hall for the feasts

A long reconstruction

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

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

Discovering the mother church

A symbol for the town

The chocolate of Modica

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The wall comes to life

The interior and its masterpieces

One city, two sites

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

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

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

A square as the heart of the city

The city of museums

The disastrous earthquake

A feast only for Scicli

A museum to save a tradition

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

Feast days

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Baroque town by the sea

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A half-Baroque church

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Two illustrious patron saints

One city, three sites

The two churches

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A miniature city

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A majestic and luminous church

Many owners, one palace

Feasting in Palazzolo

Wonderful quick decorations

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

New roads for Catania

A prominent church

A talking palace

A colourful floor

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The colours of the cathedral

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Searching for colour

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

Norman apses

A new site for a new church

The Maiolica of the staircase

An eagle-shaped city

The Burgos crucifix

From International Gothic to present day

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Between white and black

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Prominent façade