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.

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The disastrous earthquake

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

Many owners, one palace

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Prominent façade

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A museum to save a tradition

From International Gothic to present day

The Baroque town by the sea

A small room with a golden entrance

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The chocolate of Modica

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

Between white and black

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

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

One city, three sites

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

Norman apses

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

A talking palace

The interior and its masterpieces

The Staircase of Angels

A half-Baroque church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

An eagle-shaped city

One city, two sites

A new site for a new church

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Feast days

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The internal colours

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A feast only for Scicli

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A long reconstruction

Wonderful quick decorations

A square as the heart of the city

A prominent church

The church of Carmine

Two illustrious patron saints

The city of museums

Some masterpieces

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A triumph of colour

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The theatre of taste

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

A new site for a new city

A Nobel Prize in Modica

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Some prestigious works

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A miniature city

New roads for Catania

The colours of the cathedral

A symbol for the town

A hall for the feasts

A city in colour

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 Burgos crucifix

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A colourful floor

The two churches

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The wall comes to life

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Searching for colour

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca