Catania

The internal colours

The church has a Greek cross plan. As you enter, you move from a small room to a large circular space where white is used extensively and gives the room an almost blinding brightness.
The gleam of white is joined by the yellow Castronovo marble altars, located in four large niches , where four wonderful statues stand.
foto ingresso verso altare maggioreThese were created by Giovanni Battista Marino in marble stucco . As per traditional Baroque sculpture, the clothing of the four characters moves and seems caught in a continuous breeze.
The statues depict St. Euplius, St. Benedict, St. Joseph and the Child, and the Immaculate Conception. Ignazio Carnazza’s work, the Crocefissione (Crucifixion), is another clear example of Baroque art.
altare minore 2 altare minore 1
In fact, the use of colour is a typical element from the period.
The wooden crucifix rests on a yellow marble background from which a red marble cloth descends. Though made of a hard material, the cloth seems soft. Red was not chosen by chance; the first stone given by God to humans to build the new Jerusalem was in fact red.
The work was commissioned by the abbess Giuseppa Maria Scammacca. The flooring completes the interior. The splendid floor was created by Ignazio Marino’s workshop using one of his designs. Black and white marble covers the entire surface with an abstract design that points towards the centre of the church.
crocifisso carnazza

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A new site for a new church

From International Gothic to present day

A small room with a golden entrance

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The wall comes to life

An eagle-shaped city

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Searching for colour

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Some prestigious works

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A feast only for Scicli

A majestic and luminous church

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Discovering the mother church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The church of Carmine

The chocolate of Modica

The interior and its masterpieces

The disastrous earthquake

One city, three sites

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A talking palace

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

A long reconstruction

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Wonderful quick decorations

Prominent façade

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Staircase of Angels

A triumph of colour

A half-Baroque church

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A hall for the feasts

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A new site for a new city

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Maiolica of the staircase

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

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

A city in colour

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

A colourful floor

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The theatre of taste

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The internal colours

Norman apses

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A symbol for the town

Many owners, one palace

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A prominent church

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The colours of the cathedral

One city, two sites

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

New roads for Catania

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A miniature city

Feast days

Two illustrious patron saints

Some masterpieces

Between white and black

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The two churches

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The city of museums

A Nobel Prize in Modica