Catania

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The church of San Benedetto (St. Benedict) is part of a larger complex including the monastery and a small church where the MACS (Museo Arte Contemporanea Sicilia, Sicily Contemporary Art Museum) is now located.foto del prospetto
It was also part of the reorganisation after the earthquake in 1693.
In fact, the Benedictine monastery originally had only one church, the second (home to the museum) was part of the old convent of Santa Maddalena (St. Magdalene), which were connected by an arch in 1704. The church was rebuilt in a few years (1704-1713) and dedicated to St. Benedict of Nursia .
foto arco d’unione foto monastero da via crociferi inquadrando l’arco d’unione
The façade of the church on Via dei Crociferi is tall and majestic and separated from the street by a wrought iron gate. The gate is divided horizontally into three levels: in the first there is the access portal; in the second there is a louvre window with a balcony; and the same layout is also repeated on the final level which completes the façade with a triangular structure.
For the decoration some architectural elements were used creatively; one example includes the structures on the first level that divide the façade vertically and are formed by a half column, on which a pilaster strip then another half column are placed.
foto gradinata dal basso verso l'alto foto dettaglio statue angeli
The entrance is up a spectacular staircase; the church has a single nave nave and is illuminated by the six large windows on the vault and the chandeliers resting on the trabeation .
The polychrome marble floor is the only remnant of the 17th-century church and was recovered from the ruins of the earthquake.

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Prominent façade

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Many owners, one palace

From International Gothic to present day

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The church of Carmine

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

New roads for Catania

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A new site for a new city

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Discovering the mother church

The wall comes to life

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

A miniature city

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A small room with a golden entrance

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The internal colours

The two churches

The disastrous earthquake

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

The Burgos crucifix

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Modica, a city with ancient origins

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A triumph of colour

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A long reconstruction

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Maiolica of the staircase

The colours of the cathedral

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

One city, two sites

A feast only for Scicli

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The theatre of taste

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

An eagle-shaped city

The city of museums

A colourful floor

Searching for colour

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Feast days

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A talking palace

The chocolate of Modica

The Baroque town by the sea

One city, three sites

A museum to save a tradition

A majestic and luminous church

The Staircase of Angels

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

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

A prominent church

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

A new site for a new church

A city in colour

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Between white and black

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Wonderful quick decorations

A symbol for the town

Feasting in Palazzolo

Some prestigious works

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

The interior and its masterpieces

A square as the heart of the city

Some masterpieces

Norman apses

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano