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 .

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The city of museums

Prominent façade

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The internal colours

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

One city, two sites

A colourful floor

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Staircase of Angels

An eagle-shaped city

Feast days

A new site for a new city

A triumph of colour

A prominent church

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

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Many owners, one palace

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A talking palace

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

One city, three sites

The theatre of taste

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Baroque town by the sea

Some masterpieces

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A majestic and luminous church

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The two churches

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A city in colour

Between white and black

The colours of the cathedral

New roads for Catania

The wall comes to life

Searching for colour

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Some prestigious works

A half-Baroque church

The Maiolica of the staircase

A long reconstruction

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

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

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

Wonderful quick decorations

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A miniature city

A museum to save a tradition

Discovering the mother church

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A new site for a new church

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The Burgos crucifix

From International Gothic to present day

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A feast only for Scicli

Norman apses

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A square as the heart of the city

A symbol for the town

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The disastrous earthquake

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The church of Carmine