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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A city in colour

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Some prestigious works

A half-Baroque church

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A hall for the feasts

The chocolate of Modica

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

One city, two sites

The disastrous earthquake

Norman apses

A talking palace

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The two churches

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Modica, a city with ancient origins

An eagle-shaped city

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The wall comes to life

The Burgos crucifix

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A symbol for the town

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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 senses tell the Benedictine Monastery and San NicoIò l’Arena

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Staircase of Angels

A feast only for Scicli

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Feast days

The internal colours

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

A new site for a new church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Two illustrious patron saints

Between white and black

A triumph of colour

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A long reconstruction

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Some masterpieces

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Discovering the mother church

The Baroque town by the sea

The church of Carmine

A prominent church

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A majestic and luminous church

Wonderful quick decorations

A small room with a golden entrance

A square as the heart of the city

The city of museums

A museum to save a tradition

A colourful floor

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The interior and its masterpieces

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The theatre of taste

One city, three sites

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A new site for a new city

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A miniature city

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

New roads for Catania

Searching for colour

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Prominent façade

From International Gothic to present day

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town