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.

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Feast days

A city in colour

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A hall for the feasts

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A new site for a new church

A feast only for Scicli

Norman apses

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Searching for colour

The chocolate of Modica

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Wonderful quick decorations

One city, two sites

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

The wall comes to life

The Maiolica of the staircase

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

A prominent church

One city, three sites

Between white and black

Some prestigious works

The Staircase of Angels

Two illustrious patron saints

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The city of museums

The church of Carmine

A small room with a golden entrance

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

The interior and its masterpieces

The two churches

Many owners, one palace

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Discovering the mother church

A talking palace

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The Baroque town by the sea

A long reconstruction

The disastrous earthquake

The internal colours

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

From International Gothic to present day

Modica, a city with ancient origins

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Burgos crucifix

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A colourful floor

The theatre of taste

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

A symbol for the town

The colours of the cathedral

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Some masterpieces

A half-Baroque church

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A miniature city

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A majestic and luminous church

Prominent façade

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

A new site for a new city

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A square as the heart of the city

New roads for Catania

A triumph of colour

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

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