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 colourful floor

The church of Carmine

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

The Baroque town by the sea

Modica, a city with ancient origins

New roads for Catania

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

The internal colours

St. Sebastian, so much work!

An eagle-shaped city

A miniature city

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The city of museums

A majestic and luminous church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Some masterpieces

The Burgos crucifix

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A hall for the feasts

The two churches

A square as the heart of the city

A museum to save a tradition

Some prestigious works

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Feasting in Palazzolo

The disastrous earthquake

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A small room with a golden entrance

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A prominent church

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A new site for a new city

Norman apses

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

One city, three sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A feast only for Scicli

The interior and its masterpieces

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Two illustrious patron saints

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

Feast days

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Many owners, one palace

Searching for colour

Wonderful quick decorations

A new site for a new church

Prominent façade

A symbol for the town

A city in colour

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A half-Baroque church

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

The chocolate of Modica

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

The theatre of taste

The wall comes to life

A long reconstruction

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Discovering the mother church

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

From International Gothic to present day

A talking palace

The Maiolica of the staircase

Between white and black

The Staircase of Angels

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

One city, two sites

A triumph of colour