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

Prominent façade

Norman apses

A prominent church

A feast only for Scicli

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The chocolate of Modica

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Searching for colour

A colourful floor

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The disastrous earthquake

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A long reconstruction

A miniature city

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A new site for a new church

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

A half-Baroque church

A hall for the feasts

The wall comes to life

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

One city, two sites

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Discovering the mother church

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Between white and black

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

A small room with a golden entrance

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A new site for a new city

Some masterpieces

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A talking palace

The church of Carmine

A symbol for the town

From International Gothic to present day

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A city in colour

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Two illustrious patron saints

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The interior and its masterpieces

A triumph of colour

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

A museum to save a tradition

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

The city of museums

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

An eagle-shaped city

The two churches

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Many owners, one palace

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The theatre of taste

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Staircase of Angels

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

New roads for Catania

The internal colours

The colours of the cathedral

One city, three sites

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

A square as the heart of the city

Some prestigious works

Feasting in Palazzolo

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Feast days

The Burgos crucifix

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras