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 Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A city in colour

The Burgos crucifix

A symbol for the town

Feasting in Palazzolo

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A talking palace

The interior and its masterpieces

Some masterpieces

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Baroque town by the sea

A majestic and luminous church

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A miniature city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

A triumph of colour

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Feast days

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The city of museums

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A new site for a new church

A prominent church

Searching for colour

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

A feast only for Scicli

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Some prestigious works

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A square as the heart of the city

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The internal colours

From International Gothic to present day

One city, three sites

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The two churches

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

One city, two sites

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The church of Carmine

Wonderful quick decorations

A long reconstruction

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

An eagle-shaped city

The theatre of taste

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

A museum to save a tradition

Prominent façade

Discovering the mother church

The colours of the cathedral

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Many owners, one palace

New roads for Catania

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A colourful floor

The disastrous earthquake

Norman apses

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

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

The wall comes to life

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The chocolate of Modica

Two illustrious patron saints

Between white and black

A small room with a golden entrance

A hall for the feasts