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 senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Many owners, one palace

The city of museums

A long reconstruction

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Norman apses

The disastrous earthquake

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Two illustrious patron saints

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

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

A talking palace

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The chocolate of Modica

Feasting in Palazzolo

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A new site for a new church

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A feast only for Scicli

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Burgos crucifix

A prominent church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A museum to save a tradition

A majestic and luminous church

Prominent façade

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

One city, two sites

New roads for Catania

The Staircase of Angels

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Feast days

An eagle-shaped city

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A symbol for the town

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

Searching for colour

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

One city, three sites

The colours of the cathedral

A triumph of colour

From International Gothic to present day

The internal colours

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A colourful floor

A miniature city

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A hall for the feasts

A city in colour

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Some masterpieces

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Some prestigious works

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

The two churches

The Baroque town by the sea

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A small room with a golden entrance

Discovering the mother church

The theatre of taste

A half-Baroque church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Between white and black

The church of Carmine

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A new site for a new city

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Maiolica of the staircase

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The interior and its masterpieces

Wonderful quick decorations