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 role of the religious orders in rebuilding the Val di Noto

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A museum to save a tradition

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

Two illustrious patron saints

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

Some prestigious works

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Maiolica of the staircase

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An eagle-shaped city

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Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

Prominent façade

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

The internal colours

A square as the heart of the city

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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A half-Baroque church

A triumph of colour

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

Searching for colour

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

Feast days

A new site for a new church

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A miniature city

The disastrous earthquake

A prominent church

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A feast only for Scicli

One city, two sites

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

A symbol for the town

A majestic and luminous church

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The wall comes to life

The interior and its masterpieces

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

Some masterpieces

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The chocolate of Modica

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Baroque town by the sea

A colourful floor

The two churches

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A hall for the feasts

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Burgos crucifix

One city, three sites

Wonderful quick decorations

The theatre of taste

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Staircase of Angels

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

Norman apses

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

New roads for Catania

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Many owners, one palace

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Between white and black

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Discovering the mother church

A talking palace

A city in colour

The church of Carmine

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A long reconstruction

The city of museums