Catania

The interior and its masterpieces

Once inside the church your eye is driven upwards, attracted by the majestic dome decorated in 1842 by Catanese painter Giuseppe Rapisardi. The fresco depicts St. Beryl, the city’s third patron saint , as St. Peter gives him the task of founding the Catanese church.
If you lower your gaze you will then see the gigantic windows, which fill the interior with light, followed by the round-bottomed grilles that allowed the nuns to attend celebrations in the church, and finally the four chapels with the altars.
The first and second of the four altars feature two of the oldest artworks, probably transferred from the old convent: a 14th-century panel depicting a Crucifixion and a painting with St. Anthony the Abbot by Pietro Abadessa from 1643. On the third altar, the first to the right of the entrance, is the painting by Olivio Sozzi from Catania. On the other side there is a sculptural group that represents the Crucifixion, with: Our Lady of Sorrows, John and Mary Magdalene.
Last but not least, we come to the main altar .
The uniqueness of this altar lies in its veritable status as architecture and not mere sculpture. It was created by the sculptor Giovambattista Marino based on a design attributed to Vaccarini .

A majestic and luminous church

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

A symbol for the town

The theatre of taste

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

One city, two sites

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A small room with a golden entrance

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Discovering the mother church

The Staircase of Angels

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

From International Gothic to present day

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

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

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The wall comes to life

A museum to save a tradition

A new site for a new city

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

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Some masterpieces

A hall for the feasts

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

The Baroque town by the sea

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The city of museums

One city, three sites

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Some prestigious works

A talking palace

The Burgos crucifix

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

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The church of Carmine

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The interior and its masterpieces

A colourful floor

A long reconstruction

Wonderful quick decorations

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A feast only for Scicli

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Two illustrious patron saints

Modica, a city with ancient origins

New roads for Catania

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Feast days

Norman apses

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

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

The disastrous earthquake

A miniature city

An eagle-shaped city

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

The colours of the cathedral

Between white and black

A new site for a new church

The two churches

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The internal colours

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A half-Baroque church

Searching for colour

St. Sebastian, so much work!

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Prominent façade

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A prominent church

A triumph of colour

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The chocolate of Modica

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

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