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 façade used as a puppet theatre

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

A feast only for Scicli

The two churches

A prominent church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A museum to save a tradition

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Some masterpieces

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Baroque town by the sea

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

From International Gothic to present day

The Staircase of Angels

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Searching for colour

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A small room with a golden entrance

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Prominent façade

One city, two sites

The chocolate of Modica

A triumph of colour

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

A talking palace

The Burgos crucifix

A square as the heart of the city

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

Wonderful quick decorations

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

A miniature city

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Between white and black

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

New roads for Catania

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A half-Baroque church

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A Nobel Prize in Modica

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The interior and its masterpieces

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

Some prestigious works

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A hall for the feasts

The theatre of taste

Many owners, one palace

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The internal colours

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A colourful floor

A new site for a new city

The city of museums

The disastrous earthquake

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A symbol for the town

A long reconstruction

One city, three sites

Feast days

The colours of the cathedral

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A city in colour

Discovering the mother church

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Two illustrious patron saints

A new site for a new church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The church of Carmine

Norman apses