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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

One city, two sites

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A small room with a golden entrance

Two illustrious patron saints

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

A museum to save a tradition

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

A new site for a new city

An eagle-shaped city

Feast days

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

The internal colours

A square as the heart of the city

A new site for a new church

A triumph of colour

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The interior and its masterpieces

The Staircase of Angels

A colourful floor

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A prominent church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A city in colour

Some prestigious works

The chocolate of Modica

Between white and black

The two churches

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Wonderful quick decorations

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Many owners, one palace

The city of museums

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

Prominent façade

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

One city, three sites

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

From International Gothic to present day

Feasting in Palazzolo

Norman apses

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

The Baroque town by the sea

Searching for colour

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Discovering the mother church

New roads for Catania

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

A miniature city

The Burgos crucifix

The theatre of taste

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A long reconstruction

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A symbol for the town

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A half-Baroque church

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The disastrous earthquake

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

The colours of the cathedral

A talking palace

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The wall comes to life

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The church of Carmine

The Maiolica of the staircase

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A hall for the feasts

The Barresi-Branciforte lords