Catania

A miniature city

foto portale ingressoThe Benedictine monastery of Catania, with its long history, is also known as “the city within the city”. Its large size and dozens of activities taking place inside make it seem like a small city, bordered by large walls and capable of interesting cultural exchange with the surrounding urban fabric.
Since the 1970s it has been the seat of the Faculty of Literature, Language and Philosophy of the University of Catania.
Today the monastery is accessed via the surrounding wall through a majestic portal that leads into the large courtyard surrounding the Abbey, passing the main staircase in Carrara marble with ninety-five steps.
It is a remarkable piece of architecture with a white staircase, walls decorated with gypsum bas-reliefs and stuccoes that accentuate the play on light and shadow, thus creating an elegant two-toned effect.
It leads to the corridors that bring us to the monks’ cells and the two cloisters.
The first cloister, to the east, is surrounded by a splendid portico in white Syracuse stone raised on a dark base and enhanced in the centre by the caffeaos (coffee house). The second cloister was rebuilt after the earthquake of 1693 and features a stark contrast between the dark plaster wall and the fifty-two white marble columns on the lower storey.
the centre, the majestic marble fountain offers a focal point for the space.foto scalone da pianerottolo volte piano superiore

The interior and its masterpieces

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

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

The disastrous earthquake

The Staircase of Angels

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A long reconstruction

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A new site for a new church

The city of museums

Between white and black

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

Wonderful quick decorations

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A half-Baroque church

A square as the heart of the city

The two churches

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The church of Carmine

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The wall comes to life

A triumph of colour

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

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

Norman apses

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Feast days

New roads for Catania

A symbol for the town

The Maiolica of the staircase

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

A museum to save a tradition

Searching for colour

The Burgos crucifix

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

The Baroque town by the sea

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

A miniature city

The colours of the cathedral

The internal colours

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Two illustrious patron saints

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A talking palace

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Some masterpieces

A new site for a new city

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Many owners, one palace

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Prominent façade

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A hall for the feasts

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

From International Gothic to present day

A small room with a golden entrance

A feast only for Scicli

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A colourful floor

Some prestigious works

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The theatre of taste

Discovering the mother church

An eagle-shaped city

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

One city, three sites

One city, two sites

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The chocolate of Modica

A prominent church