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 senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The colours of the cathedral

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A talking palace

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A triumph of colour

The internal colours

A symbol for the town

A majestic and luminous church

The theatre of taste

Some prestigious works

A museum to save a tradition

Many owners, one palace

A miniature city

Some masterpieces

Wonderful quick decorations

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Maiolica of the staircase

A square as the heart of the city

Two illustrious patron saints

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

Prominent façade

A prominent church

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

From International Gothic to present day

An eagle-shaped city

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

New roads for Catania

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The two churches

A small room with a golden entrance

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Searching for colour

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The disastrous earthquake

A half-Baroque church

A new site for a new church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Baroque town by the sea

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

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Staircase of Angels

Feast days

The Burgos crucifix

The church of Carmine

A long reconstruction

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

A colourful floor

The wall comes to life

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The interior and its masterpieces

A new site for a new city

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

One city, two sites

The city of museums

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

One city, three sites

The chocolate of Modica

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

Norman apses

Between white and black

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