Catania

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

One of the most evocative rooms of the monastery is the kitchen.
foto cucina della portaLike the refectory, antirefectory, library and museum, the space dedicated to preparing food was designed by Giovan Battista Vaccarini and its construction began in 1739.
foto cucina dei benedettiniThe architect had to take into account the rules of monastic architecture, which meant separating the kitchen from the other rooms. This way, if there was a fire, it would not spread to the other rooms.
Similarly, the passageways leading to the refectory as well as being narrow were equipped with multiple barriers.
The kitchen underwent various changes over the years, but the structure has remained the same with the hearths in the centre, a huge brazier placed in an octagonal “chamber”.
The maiolica decorations that enrich the structure create splendid orange and blue squares with a white background of abstract motifs. The floor is just as surprising. Also made with colourful maiolica tiles, it extends across the whole room. However, the floor is not simple or uniform; it is divided into eight parts with two different alternating decorations.
The first is a white floor with fine blue, black and yellow geometric decorations that cover the smaller portions; the other is larger and more colourful, where yellow and green dominate the blue, orange and white decoration. foto Dettaglio maioliche

The interior and its masterpieces

The Staircase of Angels

A new site for a new city

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A square as the heart of the city

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A city in colour

New roads for Catania

Between white and black

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

An eagle-shaped city

Many owners, one palace

Some masterpieces

The chocolate of Modica

One city, two sites

A colourful floor

Wonderful quick decorations

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Feast days

A feast only for Scicli

A talking palace

A long reconstruction

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A majestic and luminous church

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A half-Baroque church

The theatre of taste

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Discovering the mother church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Baroque town by the sea

The wall comes to life

A miniature city

Searching for colour

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Two illustrious patron saints

A prominent church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The church of Carmine

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A small room with a golden entrance

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

Prominent façade

The internal colours

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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 Battista

A hall for the feasts

The Maiolica of the staircase

One city, three sites

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

From International Gothic to present day

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

The colours of the cathedral

Norman apses

The city of museums

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A symbol for the town

The Burgos crucifix

A triumph of colour

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

A new site for a new church

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The two churches

The disastrous earthquake