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.

A long reconstruction

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A colourful floor

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A prominent church

A triumph of colour

A museum to save a tradition

The church of Carmine

A talking palace

The Burgos crucifix

A small room with a golden entrance

The colours of the cathedral

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The city of museums

Some prestigious works

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Maiolica of the staircase

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A symbol for the town

Discovering the mother church

A feast only for Scicli

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

Wonderful quick decorations

The façade used as a puppet theatre

One city, three sites

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

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

The wall comes to life

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Between white and black

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Prominent façade

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

The two churches

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A half-Baroque church

St. Sebastian, so much work!

New roads for Catania

The internal colours

A miniature city

Norman apses

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The chocolate of Modica

The Staircase of Angels

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

An eagle-shaped city

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Many owners, one palace

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Searching for colour

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Some masterpieces

From International Gothic to present day

The theatre of taste

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Two illustrious patron saints

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A hall for the feasts

Feast days

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A new site for a new city

A city in colour

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The disastrous earthquake

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

One city, two sites

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Baroque town by the sea

A majestic and luminous church

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A new site for a new church

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family