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.

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Discovering the mother church

A triumph of colour

The church of Carmine

Some prestigious works

A half-Baroque church

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The wall comes to life

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A new site for a new church

A miniature city

The façade used as a puppet theatre

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

New roads for Catania

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Feasting in Palazzolo

The chocolate of Modica

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

The two churches

A colourful floor

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A talking palace

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

An eagle-shaped city

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

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A symbol for the town

Many owners, one palace

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

The theatre of taste

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A feast only for Scicli

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Baroque town by the sea

A prominent church

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Burgos crucifix

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Norman apses

Between white and black

One city, three sites

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A square as the heart of the city

A long reconstruction

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Prominent façade

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The colours of the cathedral

A small room with a golden entrance

Searching for colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The city of museums

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

Some masterpieces

The disastrous earthquake

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Feast days

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

A hall for the feasts

A new site for a new city

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

A majestic and luminous church

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

A city in colour

Two illustrious patron saints

The Staircase of Angels

The internal colours

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The interior and its masterpieces

One city, two sites

From International Gothic to present day