Catania

The colours of the cathedral

The contrast of colours offered by the cathedral’s façade is the result of specific choices by its architect Giovanni Battista Vaccarini .

The cathedral of Sant'Agata
The cathedral of Sant’Agata overlooks the wide Piazza Duomo from which it is physically divided by a balustrade. After passing there is a churchyard to cross before you can access the interior of the basilica. The exterior has a facade that is divided into three floors: in the lower part are placed the main portal and the two sides, surmounted by large oval windows; in the center of the second floor there is a niche with the statue of Saint Agatha and the angels; closes the third and last floor closed by a triangular tympanum. For the facade the materials chosen were white limestone and gray lava stone. Together they create on the facade a geometric game where white often creates a frame around the black. In other cases the white highlights some architectural elements such as the capital or the base of the columns.

Grey lava stone and white marble were used, which, by alternating their use, bestow liveliness upon the façade. The façade is split into three levels: in the lowest part there are the main portal and two lateral portals, each surmounted by large oval windows; on the second level, in a niche , on a blue background with red beams, there is a white statue of St. Agatha and the angels; finally, a triangular tympanum completes the third level.
Cattedrale di Sant'Agata : foto prospetto ravvicinata Statua di Sant'Agata nella nicchia
Colour also features inside the church. At the entrance, two pairs of red columns welcome visitors and a marble floor in various colours (red, green, yellow and white) leads worshippers to the altar.foto dall'ingresso verso l'altare, comprese coppie di colonneThe church has a Latin cross plan and is divided into three naves by large limestone pillars with a grey lava stone base. This adds brightness to the whole room, which is amplified by light coming in through the windows of the nave.
At the end of the church you can admire the decorations on the main apse by painter Giovanni Battista Corradini, who painted the Trionfo di Sant’Agata (Triumph of St. Agatha).

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

An eagle-shaped city

A majestic and luminous church

The theatre of taste

New roads for Catania

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A small room with a golden entrance

A miniature city

A feast only for Scicli

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A talking palace

Some prestigious works

A prominent church

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

The disastrous earthquake

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Two illustrious patron saints

Searching for colour

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

A triumph of colour

The Baroque town by the sea

One city, three sites

Many owners, one palace

Wonderful quick decorations

Some masterpieces

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

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Staircase of Angels

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A square as the heart of the city

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

The interior and its masterpieces

The wall comes to life

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A city in colour

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

The colours of the cathedral

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The internal colours

A hall for the feasts

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The façade used as a puppet theatre

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The church of Carmine

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Prominent façade

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

A symbol for the town

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A new site for a new church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Norman apses

Connections with other UNESCO sites

One city, two sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A long reconstruction

The chocolate of Modica

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Discovering the mother church

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Burgos crucifix

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Between white and black

From International Gothic to present day

Feast days

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A new site for a new city

A colourful floor

The city of museums

A half-Baroque church

The two churches

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)