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 Burgos crucifix

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A symbol for the town

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A hall for the feasts

A triumph of colour

Feast days

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A small room with a golden entrance

A prominent church

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The colours of the cathedral

The theatre of taste

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Discovering the mother church

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A majestic and luminous church

A new site for a new city

A new site for a new church

A half-Baroque church

New roads for Catania

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

Norman apses

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Some masterpieces

The city of museums

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The disastrous earthquake

A long reconstruction

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A talking palace

The interior and its masterpieces

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Some prestigious works

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The church of Carmine

The internal colours

From International Gothic to present day

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

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

One city, two sites

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

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Staircase of Angels

A miniature city

Between white and black

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Searching for colour

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The two churches

Two illustrious patron saints

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Limestone, the colour of harmony

One city, three sites

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

A city in colour

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The Maiolica of the staircase

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Wonderful quick decorations

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Many owners, one palace

A colourful floor

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Baroque town by the sea

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

The wall comes to life

A museum to save a tradition

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

A feast only for Scicli

Prominent façade