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.

One city, two sites

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Some prestigious works

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A feast only for Scicli

Between white and black

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A prominent church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The city of museums

An eagle-shaped city

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Two illustrious patron saints

The Maiolica of the staircase

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The interior and its masterpieces

The Burgos crucifix

A long reconstruction

A colourful floor

The chocolate of Modica

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

A hall for the feasts

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A majestic and luminous church

Feast days

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

From International Gothic to present day

The theatre of taste

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Baroque town by the sea

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A small room with a golden entrance

Searching for colour

Discovering the mother church

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Wonderful quick decorations

One city, three sites

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

A square as the heart of the city

A triumph of colour

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

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

The church of Carmine

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

A symbol for the town

A new site for a new city

A museum to save a tradition

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

A new site for a new church

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

The two churches

New roads for Catania

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

Some masterpieces

A miniature city

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A city in colour

The wall comes to life

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

The internal colours

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Prominent façade

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Many owners, one palace

A talking palace

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Norman apses

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours