Catania

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Located on the hill of Montevergine is one of the city’s largest complexes and the second largest monastic complex in Europe.
Benedictine monastery of Catania has a very long history marked by the passage of time (one testimony includes the remains of a Roman domus, or house), civilisations and natural disasters which have made it one of the most resistant and richest cultural sites on the entire island.
Founded by the monks of Cassino in the 16th century, when the west cloister was constructed, with the large Carrara marble fountain completed in 1608, most of the rooms were used for monastery life: the kitchens, the basement cellars, the monks’ cells over two floors, the refectory and the parlour. foto d'insiemeDuring the eruption of 1669 the monastery was hit by magma that surrounded the building: it burst through the walls and reached the first-storey windows.
Traces of the exceptional lava flow are still visible along the retaining walls, which were built specially to divert it. In 1693 the monastery was hit by the great earthquake and suffered serious damage.
The new design involved the construction of four large courtyards that would make it the largest in the world, but only two were completed: the cloister with the fountain and one in the east where the caffeaos (coffee house) was placed.

foto caffeaos foto Coffeaos da dentro la struttura
The structure was reminiscent of a gazebo, made with white stone featuring an interesting decoration in colourful maiolica with an abstract design.

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Maiolica of the staircase

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

An eagle-shaped city

Many owners, one palace

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A miniature city

The interior and its masterpieces

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

The disastrous earthquake

A hall for the feasts

The colours of the cathedral

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

A long reconstruction

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Some prestigious works

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

St. Sebastian, so much work!

One city, three sites

Prominent façade

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A half-Baroque church

One city, two sites

The Baroque town by the sea

The two churches

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

A colourful floor

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A feast only for Scicli

A museum to save a tradition

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A talking palace

The internal colours

The theatre of taste

Discovering the mother church

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A new site for a new church

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

A new site for a new city

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Two illustrious patron saints

Between white and black

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The wall comes to life

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

Searching for colour

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A small room with a golden entrance

The church of Carmine

A square as the heart of the city

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

The chocolate of Modica

A city in colour

A triumph of colour

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A majestic and luminous church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Staircase of Angels

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Norman apses

Some masterpieces

A prominent church

A symbol for the town

The city of museums

Feast days

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Feasting in Palazzolo

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

From International Gothic to present day

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

New roads for Catania