Catania

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The work of the Benedictines not only followed religious and charitable commitments, but scientific undertakings, too. The monastery’s first collection of books was probably created at its foundation and used exclusively by the monks. The monks also followed strict Benedictine rule through the study of literature and science.
They established relations with the city’s cultural institutions and acquired important collections over the centuries.
There were around 24,000 volumes of rare, ancient and modern manuscripts and parchments; the monks were great connoisseurs and disseminators of ancient knowledge. After the eruption of 1669 and the earthquake of 1693 the monastery suffered great losses but the monks managed to save part of the collection, which they kept until the library was rebuilt.
The construction of the library’s new main hall was entrusted to Vaccarini, who designed it with typical elements from late Baroque art.
In fact, the giant central plan hall, the “Sala Vaccarini” (Vaccarini Hall), is an important room covered almost completely by wooden bookshelves in order that nearly reach the decorated vault, placed between the round windows that illuminate the room.
In addition to the hall there were five other sumptuous rooms used for the Benedictine Museum and designed to closely match the library. Today the former museum rooms are home to the library’s reference and reading rooms.

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Wonderful quick decorations

A hall for the feasts

The interior and its masterpieces

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The chocolate of Modica

The disastrous earthquake

Feast days

A new site for a new church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

A long reconstruction

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

One city, three sites

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The internal colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Many owners, one palace

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Norman apses

A small room with a golden entrance

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

A square as the heart of the city

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A triumph of colour

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

A majestic and luminous church

A new site for a new city

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

Between white and black

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The theatre of taste

A museum to save a tradition

A miniature city

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Some prestigious works

A city in colour

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Discovering the mother church

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

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

The wall comes to life

The Maiolica of the staircase

A feast only for Scicli

Prominent façade

One city, two sites

A colourful floor

Searching for colour

Some masterpieces

A Nobel Prize in Modica

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The Burgos crucifix

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The church of Carmine

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The city of museums

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A symbol for the town

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A prominent church

The two churches

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

A talking palace

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

New roads for Catania

A half-Baroque church

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Two illustrious patron saints

An eagle-shaped city

The Staircase of Angels

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

The Baroque town by the sea