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

Many owners, one palace

An eagle-shaped city

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

A hall for the feasts

The Baroque town by the sea

The church of Carmine

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

Between white and black

Feast days

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The disastrous earthquake

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The internal colours

A small room with a golden entrance

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A triumph of colour

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

A talking palace

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A symbol for the town

Some masterpieces

Prominent façade

One city, two sites

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Burgos crucifix

A majestic and luminous church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

New roads for Catania

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The city of museums

A long reconstruction

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

The interior and its masterpieces

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

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

The wall comes to life

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A square as the heart of the city

The Staircase of Angels

The chocolate of Modica

The two churches

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A miniature city

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

Two illustrious patron saints

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A city in colour

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

From International Gothic to present day

Discovering the mother church

Norman apses

Searching for colour

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Some prestigious works

A prominent church

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

One city, three sites

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A colourful floor

A new site for a new city

The theatre of taste

A new site for a new church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?