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

A new site for a new church

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A symbol for the town

Feast days

One city, two sites

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A triumph of colour

A half-Baroque church

The colours of the cathedral

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

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

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The two churches

An eagle-shaped city

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The city of museums

The wall comes to life

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Two illustrious patron saints

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The church of Carmine

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Some masterpieces

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The chocolate of Modica

Many owners, one palace

Wonderful quick decorations

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

A small room with a golden entrance

The Maiolica of the staircase

A talking palace

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Staircase of Angels

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Some prestigious works

A long reconstruction

A feast only for Scicli

The theatre of taste

A prominent church

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A hall for the feasts

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

A colourful floor

A majestic and luminous church

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A square as the heart of the city

The Burgos crucifix

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

From International Gothic to present day

One city, three sites

The interior and its masterpieces

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A new site for a new city

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Baroque town by the sea

Searching for colour

The internal colours

Between white and black

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Feasting in Palazzolo

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

The disastrous earthquake

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A city in colour

Norman apses

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Prominent façade

A miniature city