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.

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

The church of Carmine

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Many owners, one palace

The colours of the cathedral

A half-Baroque church

An eagle-shaped city

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A talking palace

The Staircase of Angels

The interior and its masterpieces

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

Some prestigious works

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

One city, three sites

Between white and black

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The wall comes to life

A museum to save a tradition

The disastrous earthquake

Two illustrious patron saints

A colourful floor

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

Modica, a city with ancient origins

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A triumph of colour

The Baroque town by the sea

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Prominent façade

A new site for a new city

A miniature city

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A symbol for the town

Some masterpieces

The Maiolica of the staircase

A square as the heart of the city

One city, two sites

Discovering the mother church

A small room with a golden entrance

A feast only for Scicli

A majestic and luminous church

The internal colours

Feast days

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A new site for a new church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Burgos crucifix

The theatre of taste

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Norman apses

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

From International Gothic to present day

The city of museums

A hall for the feasts

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

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

Wonderful quick decorations

The two churches

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A city in colour

Searching for colour

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A prominent church