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

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A colourful floor

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

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

A new site for a new city

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A miniature city

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The colours of the cathedral

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Feast days

Prominent façade

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

The theatre of taste

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

A small room with a golden entrance

Many owners, one palace

Norman apses

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The city of museums

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The two churches

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A feast only for Scicli

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Some masterpieces

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A museum to save a tradition

A prominent church

A city in colour

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

One city, two sites

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Staircase of Angels

A triumph of colour

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The wall comes to life

Some prestigious works

The internal colours

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A hall for the feasts

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A square as the heart of the city

A half-Baroque church

A majestic and luminous church

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

From International Gothic to present day

Searching for colour

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

Between white and black

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

The Burgos crucifix

Wonderful quick decorations

A talking palace

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A new site for a new church

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The interior and its masterpieces

A long reconstruction

Feasting in Palazzolo

Two illustrious patron saints

One city, three sites

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

New roads for Catania

Discovering the mother church

A symbol for the town

The Baroque town by the sea

The church of Carmine

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The chocolate of Modica