Catania

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The entire city gets involved in the feast and celebrations of St. Agatha .foto sant' agataEvery year on the 3rd, 4th and 5th of February, Catania offers its patron saint an extraordinary feast, including processions in the places of her martyrdom, fireworks, a tour of the Saint’s Bust around the city and the day of the candelore (giant candelabras).
The candelore are an interesting popular custom.
foto di una candelora  foto processione dei ceri
Tall candelabras are paraded and pass in front of the Abbey of St. Agatha.
Tradition has it that they weigh as much as those asking for the Saint’s protection and are carried on the shoulders of between 4 and 12 people. The candelabras lead the procession and always march in the same order. The candelabra of Monsignor Ventimiglia comes first,followed by the candelabra of the inhabitants of the San Giuseppe La Rena quarter, then that of the gardeners and florists. The fourth is the candelabra of the fishmongers, named the bersagliera because its bearer marches in a similar way to the bersaglieri .
Then come the greengrocers, the most elegant candelabra nicknamed the “signorina” (young lady), then the candelabra of the butchers, pasta makers, pizzicagnoli (delicatessen shopkeepers) and innkeepers (managers of taverns and inns, now restaurants and hotels). The tail of the procession is formed of the candelabra of the bakers, the heaviest of all, named “mamma” (mum), and that of the St. Agatha recreation club.

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

A prominent church

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Discovering the mother church

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

The colours of the cathedral

A symbol for the town

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

Searching for colour

A majestic and luminous church

A half-Baroque church

The interior and its masterpieces

Norman apses

The Maiolica of the staircase

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A feast only for Scicli

From International Gothic to present day

A new site for a new church

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

New roads for Catania

Some prestigious works

The internal colours

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The façade used as a puppet theatre

One city, three sites

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

The church of Carmine

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A hall for the feasts

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Prominent façade

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A triumph of colour

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A new site for a new city

A square as the heart of the city

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A city in colour

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

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

Feast days

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

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

A talking palace

The two churches

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

An eagle-shaped city

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The disastrous earthquake

Some masterpieces

A long reconstruction

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Feasting in Palazzolo

A small room with a golden entrance

A museum to save a tradition

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Burgos crucifix

A colourful floor

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The theatre of taste

Two illustrious patron saints

Wonderful quick decorations

The Staircase of Angels

Many owners, one palace

The Baroque town by the sea

Connections with other UNESCO sites

One city, two sites

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

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A miniature city

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Between white and black

The wall comes to life

The city of museums