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

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Staircase of Angels

One city, three sites

A talking palace

A long reconstruction

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

A miniature city

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A feast only for Scicli

Some prestigious works

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A symbol for the town

The Burgos crucifix

A small room with a golden entrance

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

The Baroque town by the sea

From International Gothic to present day

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

A new site for a new city

A triumph of colour

A hall for the feasts

A new site for a new church

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A city in colour

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

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Maiolica of the staircase

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

The interior and its masterpieces

The internal colours

Many owners, one palace

A square as the heart of the city

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Searching for colour

The city of museums

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Prominent façade

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

New roads for Catania

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

One city, two sites

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The theatre of taste

The disastrous earthquake

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The two churches

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A colourful floor

Feast days

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Norman apses

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

A prominent church

A museum to save a tradition

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A majestic and luminous church

The wall comes to life

Between white and black

An eagle-shaped city

Some masterpieces

Discovering the mother church

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The church of Carmine

Wonderful quick decorations

Two illustrious patron saints