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 .

Some prestigious works

A small room with a golden entrance

A square as the heart of the city

The wall comes to life

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 church of San Giuseppe

The church of Carmine

Two illustrious patron saints

New roads for Catania

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The chocolate of Modica

Discovering the mother church

Feast days

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

Between white and black

A feast only for Scicli

A majestic and luminous church

Prominent façade

A long reconstruction

The internal colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Searching for colour

One city, two sites

The interior and its masterpieces

A symbol for the town

A museum to save a tradition

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Many owners, one palace

An eagle-shaped city

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Some masterpieces

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A city in colour

A talking palace

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

A prominent church

The disastrous earthquake

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

The colours of the cathedral

The Maiolica of the staircase

A miniature city

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

The Burgos crucifix

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The city of museums

The two churches

The theatre of taste

A triumph of colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Connections with other UNESCO sites

From International Gothic to present day

A new site for a new city

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A half-Baroque church

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Staircase of Angels

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A hall for the feasts

Wonderful quick decorations

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

One city, three sites

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A colourful floor

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

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

A new site for a new church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Norman apses

The Baroque town by the sea

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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