Catania

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Giardino dei Novizi (Garden of Novices) is one of the most fascinating places in the monastery.
Over the centuries it has suffered a great deal of damage and experienced various transformations. In 1977 work began to restore the monastery, supervised by architect Giancarlo De Carlo .
The Garden of Novices, as the name suggests, was reserved for those beginning their spiritual journey to become part of the religious order, where they would observe and learn the Benedictine way of life.
The garden was built atop the accumulation of lava after the 1669 eruption; in the 20th century, it was destroyed to make room for a gymnasium that did not last long. The architect  De Carlo recovered the old garden, restored the area, added a spiral staircase and fountain and turned it into a green space open to all.
foto giardino novizi foto dettagli piante giardino

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The city of museums

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The disastrous earthquake

A symbol for the town

An eagle-shaped city

The Staircase of Angels

One city, three sites

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

Norman apses

Prominent façade

Feast days

A miniature city

A hall for the feasts

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

The theatre of taste

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Discovering the mother church

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

A square as the heart of the city

A half-Baroque church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Baroque town by the sea

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Searching for colour

The church of Carmine

The interior and its masterpieces

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

From International Gothic to present day

A small room with a golden entrance

The two churches

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A prominent church

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The internal colours

A new site for a new city

A long reconstruction

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A talking palace

A museum to save a tradition

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Some prestigious works

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Maiolica of the staircase

The Burgos crucifix

A feast only for Scicli

A new site for a new church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

A colourful floor

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The wall comes to life

A triumph of colour

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The chocolate of Modica

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

A majestic and luminous church

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Wonderful quick decorations

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

Between white and black

One city, two sites

Feasting in Palazzolo

A city in colour

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca