Catania

The church and the monastery

The church of San Benedetto (St. Benedict), considered one of the best examples of late Baroque in Catania, is located inside the historic monastery at the beginning of Via dei Crociferi.
monastero da via crociferi inquadrando l'arco d'unioneIt is the other largest convent complex of the Benedictine nuns and their current residence.
It is said that the superb arch that opens onto the street was built in one night to unite the two monasteries and connect the abbeys, following the earthquake in 1704.
arco d'unioneThe grandeur that emanates from this place inspired Giovanni Verga ‘s “Storia di una Capinera” (Story of a Blackcap) and Franco Zeffirelli’s film adaptation (Sparrow) set in Via dei Crociferi.
The monastery of San Benedetto originated from the remains of a Roman domus dating back to imperial times, the remains of which were discovered during restoration work.
One of the most fascinating elements of the cloistered monastery, where the Benedictine nuns practised a characteristic form of devotion , is the parlour, the only place where the nuns could have contact with the outside world.
In this room, concealed by thick black grating, they were allowed to talk to their relatives.
The room’s floor, preserved in its original state, dates back to the 14th century and is made of terracotta and limestone. It also has geometrically shaped decorations typical of the Arab-Norman period, created by the intersection of several depictions joined together. The main element is the symbolic eight-pointed star repeated in the geometric flooring and which represents the sacred centre par excellence.

A casket of precious works

The church and the monastery

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Duomo di San Giorgio (Cathedral of St. George)

The senses tell the story of the Sanctuary Church of Santa Maria della Stella

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The eagle-shaped city

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

The church and the college

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The new roads of the city

Reconstruction after the earthquake

Altars, saints and sculptural works

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

The Palazzo dei due mori

The casket of austerity under the great dome

The works in the church

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

City and nature

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

The interior and works of art

The Badia di Sant’Agata (St. Agatha’s Abbey)

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

One city, three sites

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

Verticality and dynamism of the façade of the Church of San Carlo

The neo-Gothic seminary chapel: symbols, light and space

The Church of St. Paul

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

Religious architecture

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

The articulated interior spaces

The interior of the church: space and colour

The city within the city

St. Agatha and the candelore

The freedom of worship and the Catholic Church’s role in the diffusion of Baroque

Views denied, views conquered: the power of the devout Benedictines

The church of San Nicolò l’Arena: the majesty of an unfinished beauty

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

Art in the cathedral

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

Geometry and wonder in civic architecture in the Baroque of the Val di Noto

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

Piazza Duomo, the elephant fountain, the heart of the city

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

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

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

A story of rebirth

The palace, the town, the church

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

The art of maiolica

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

Luminous sacred spaces

The senses tell the Benedictine Monastery and the Church of San Nicolò l’Arena

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

The Church of St. Francis

The Benedictines’ library

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

The Church of Madonna della Stella

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

The Franciscan convent

The Church of St. Benedict

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

A stone garden

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

The city palace

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

Barresi-Branciforte: the lords of the fiefdom and the modernisation of the town

A heritage of votive works

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

The expansion of space and changing reality

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Carlo and the former Jesuit college

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

A unifying project for the city of Catania

The Staircase of Angels

The two churches