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 prominent church

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A symbol for the town

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A long reconstruction

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

The church of Carmine

From International Gothic to present day

A hall for the feasts

The wall comes to life

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

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

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

An eagle-shaped city

Two illustrious patron saints

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The theatre of taste

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Some prestigious works

A miniature city

A city in colour

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Burgos crucifix

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

A small room with a golden entrance

Between white and black

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Wonderful quick decorations

A new site for a new city

The two churches

A feast only for Scicli

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The interior and its masterpieces

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Searching for colour

A triumph of colour

Feast days

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A new site for a new church

Prominent façade

The city of museums

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

New roads for Catania

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A museum to save a tradition

A half-Baroque church

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Maiolica of the staircase

A square as the heart of the city

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The internal colours

The Baroque town by the sea

Discovering the mother church

The disastrous earthquake

One city, three sites

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Some masterpieces

A talking palace

Norman apses

A majestic and luminous church

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Staircase of Angels

A colourful floor

Many owners, one palace

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

One city, two sites

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library