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.

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The interior and its masterpieces

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A city in colour

Wonderful quick decorations

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

A museum to save a tradition

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The theatre of taste

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

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

The Baroque town by the sea

Feast days

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

The church of Carmine

A colourful floor

A miniature city

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Prominent façade

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Searching for colour

The city of museums

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

Norman apses

Two illustrious patron saints

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

From International Gothic to present day

A square as the heart of the city

A symbol for the town

The two churches

A talking palace

The disastrous earthquake

Between white and black

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Discovering the mother church

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

A hall for the feasts

The wall comes to life

Some prestigious works

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A small room with a golden entrance

One city, two sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The Staircase of Angels

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A triumph of colour

A new site for a new city

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A new site for a new church

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

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The façade used as a puppet theatre

An eagle-shaped city

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A feast only for Scicli

The internal colours

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Maiolica of the staircase

The Burgos crucifix

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The chocolate of Modica

A long reconstruction

Many owners, one palace

Feasting in Palazzolo

A prominent church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

One city, three sites

Some masterpieces

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto