Caltagirone

A museum to save a tradition

In 1965, the Museum of Ceramics was founded in order to save a centuries-old tradition. Located on one of the main streets, Via Roma, the location was refurbished before the inauguration.
It has a special entrance, a 19th-century portico that rests on a tall raised structure accessed by a series of staircases. The maiolica decorations make it extra special, embellishing and adding colour to the façade.
The museum contains pottery from the Greek age until the beginning of the 20th century, including collections of Arab, Norman, Suevian and Aragonese artefacts.

foto ceramiche in ordine di descrizione per periodo

foto ceramiche in ordine di descrizione per periodo foto ceramiche in ordine di descrizione per periodo
The pottery is exhibited in four large rooms, where there are around 2500 artefacts and work from the ancient, medieval, post-medieval and modern worlds. The collections mostly come from the Civic Museum of Caltagirone and the “ Luigi Sturzo “, State Institute of Art for Ceramics, but also from other Sicilian museums such as the Russo-Perez collection or from private collectors including Professor Antonino Ragona.

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A hall for the feasts

The colours of the cathedral

The Burgos crucifix

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A prominent church

New roads for Catania

One city, two sites

A talking palace

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A half-Baroque church

A miniature city

A square as the heart of the city

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

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

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

Feast days

The interior and its masterpieces

A new site for a new church

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Norman apses

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A majestic and luminous church

The city of museums

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Wonderful quick decorations

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Searching for colour

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The theatre of taste

A long reconstruction

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Between white and black

Prominent façade

Some prestigious works

The internal colours

From International Gothic to present day

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The church of Carmine

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The two churches

The Baroque town by the sea

Feasting in Palazzolo

The wall comes to life

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A symbol for the town

Two illustrious patron saints

The Staircase of Angels

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

A triumph of colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The disastrous earthquake

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A feast only for Scicli

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Discovering the mother church

A small room with a golden entrance

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A colourful floor

A museum to save a tradition

A new site for a new city

One city, three sites

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A city in colour

Many owners, one palace

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

An eagle-shaped city