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

Two illustrious patron saints

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Between white and black

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A long reconstruction

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

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The Barresi-Branciforte lords

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

Prominent façade

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A talking palace

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The Staircase of Angels

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A feast only for Scicli

The city of museums

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Some masterpieces

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Searching for colour

A new site for a new city

A prominent church

A new site for a new church

Norman apses

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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The colours of the cathedral

A square as the heart of the city

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A museum to save a tradition

The disastrous earthquake

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New roads for Catania

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A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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The theatre of taste

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The two churches

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The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A majestic and luminous church

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Many owners, one palace

A hall for the feasts

Feast days

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Wonderful quick decorations

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Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A small room with a golden entrance

Some prestigious works

The internal colours

The church of Carmine

A symbol for the town

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A colourful floor

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Discovering the mother church

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

A miniature city

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A half-Baroque church

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One city, three sites

The interior and its masterpieces

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

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

A city in colour

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The chocolate of Modica

A triumph of colour

The Burgos crucifix

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From International Gothic to present day

An eagle-shaped city

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe