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

An eagle-shaped city

A long reconstruction

The chocolate of Modica

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A museum to save a tradition

Some masterpieces

Two illustrious patron saints

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A triumph of colour

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Norman apses

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The internal colours

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A majestic and luminous church

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

One city, three sites

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Prominent façade

A hall for the feasts

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Discovering the mother church

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A small room with a golden entrance

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

New roads for Catania

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A colourful floor

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Feast days

A new site for a new church

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The church of Carmine

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

The Baroque town by the sea

A talking palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Between white and black

Wonderful quick decorations

The theatre of taste

The Burgos crucifix

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A prominent church

A miniature city

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Maiolica of the staircase

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A new site for a new city

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The interior and its masterpieces

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

A square as the heart of the city

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Staircase of Angels

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The two churches

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

From International Gothic to present day

A half-Baroque church

A feast only for Scicli

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A city in colour

The colours of the cathedral

One city, two sites

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The wall comes to life

Searching for colour

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The disastrous earthquake

Some prestigious works

A symbol for the town

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The city of museums

Many owners, one palace