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 two churches

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The disastrous earthquake

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

New roads for Catania

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

The Staircase of Angels

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A prominent church

The Maiolica of the staircase

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A square as the heart of the city

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Discovering the mother church

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A symbol for the town

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Prominent façade

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Feast days

From International Gothic to present day

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A half-Baroque church

A majestic and luminous church

A long reconstruction

One city, two sites

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

A small room with a golden entrance

A colourful floor

A new site for a new city

The wall comes to life

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The internal colours

A city in colour

Some prestigious works

Wonderful quick decorations

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Searching for colour

The theatre of taste

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A feast only for Scicli

The chocolate of Modica

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Two illustrious patron saints

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

One city, three sites

Many owners, one palace

A museum to save a tradition

The colours of the cathedral

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The city of museums

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A talking palace

Between white and black

The church of Carmine

An eagle-shaped city

The Burgos crucifix

A triumph of colour

The interior and its masterpieces

A miniature city

Norman apses

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

A new site for a new church