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 disastrous earthquake

The wall comes to life

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A small room with a golden entrance

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

From International Gothic to present day

The city of museums

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A hall for the feasts

A long reconstruction

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A prominent church

Norman apses

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The church of Carmine

Wonderful quick decorations

The colours of the cathedral

The internal colours

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

The chocolate of Modica

A miniature city

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Burgos crucifix

A triumph of colour

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

The interior and its masterpieces

A new site for a new city

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

One city, two sites

Prominent façade

Searching for colour

Feast days

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

A half-Baroque church

An eagle-shaped city

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

One city, three sites

A feast only for Scicli

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

New roads for Catania

The two churches

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A new site for a new church

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

A museum to save a tradition

A talking palace

Between white and black

A colourful floor

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

The Baroque town by the sea

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Maiolica of the staircase

Some masterpieces

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Staircase of Angels

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The theatre of taste

Discovering the mother church

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A symbol for the town

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Some prestigious works

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A city in colour

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Two illustrious patron saints

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

A square as the heart of the city

Many owners, one palace