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

From International Gothic to present day

The Staircase of Angels

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Wonderful quick decorations

Feasting in Palazzolo

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A square as the heart of the city

A small room with a golden entrance

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The disastrous earthquake

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A miniature city

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

A long reconstruction

A hall for the feasts

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The colours of the cathedral

A prominent church

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Burgos crucifix

Searching for colour

The church of Carmine

The internal colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Between white and black

A half-Baroque church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The wall comes to life

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The chocolate of Modica

Feast days

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Prominent façade

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Some masterpieces

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The interior and its masterpieces

One city, three sites

Norman apses

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

One city, two sites

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A talking palace

A triumph of colour

A new site for a new church

A symbol for the town

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

A colourful floor

Discovering the mother church

New roads for Catania

A majestic and luminous church

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Baroque town by the sea

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Some prestigious works

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The theatre of taste

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

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A new site for a new city

A city in colour

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Maiolica of the staircase

Many owners, one palace

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

A feast only for Scicli

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

Two illustrious patron saints

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The two churches

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A Nobel Prize in Modica

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The city of museums