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

A museum to save a tradition

The city of museums

Limestone, the colour of harmony

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Feast days

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

New roads for Catania

A new site for a new city

A colourful floor

The façade used as a puppet theatre

One city, three sites

A square as the heart of the city

A city in colour

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

Many owners, one palace

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

Wonderful quick decorations

The chocolate of Modica

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The church of Carmine

A small room with a golden entrance

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

The two churches

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The Baroque town by the sea

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Between white and black

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

One city, two sites

The Staircase of Angels

Some prestigious works

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

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A long reconstruction

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A miniature city

A talking palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A half-Baroque church

Norman apses

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A new site for a new church

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The interior and its masterpieces

A prominent church

Two illustrious patron saints

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A symbol for the town

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

The Burgos crucifix

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The disastrous earthquake

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Discovering the mother church

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

The internal colours

Prominent façade

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A triumph of colour

The wall comes to life

A feast only for Scicli

Feasting in Palazzolo

The colours of the cathedral

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A hall for the feasts

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The theatre of taste

Searching for colour

From International Gothic to present day