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 palace for the La Rocca lords

A museum to save a tradition

The internal colours

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

Searching for colour

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Feast days

A feast only for Scicli

A triumph of colour

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Two illustrious patron saints

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Baroque town by the sea

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Many owners, one palace

The theatre of taste

The Burgos crucifix

One city, two sites

A city in colour

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A colourful floor

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Feasting in Palazzolo

The colours of the cathedral

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

Wonderful quick decorations

The chocolate of Modica

The wall comes to life

A square as the heart of the city

The church of Carmine

The two churches

A symbol for the town

Modica, a city with ancient origins

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The interior and its masterpieces

A miniature city

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

A majestic and luminous church

The Staircase of Angels

The city of museums

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Norman apses

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A new site for a new city

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

From International Gothic to present day

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A hall for the feasts

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

New roads for Catania

An eagle-shaped city

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

The disastrous earthquake

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A half-Baroque church

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

Prominent façade

The façade used as a puppet theatre

One city, three sites

A new site for a new church

A talking palace

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A prominent church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A small room with a golden entrance

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

Discovering the mother church

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Maiolica of the staircase

Between white and black

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A long reconstruction

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Some masterpieces

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Some prestigious works

Connections with other UNESCO sites

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras