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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The disastrous earthquake

One city, three sites

The Staircase of Angels

One city, two sites

The theatre of taste

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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The Burgos crucifix

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

Wonderful quick decorations

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An eagle-shaped city

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The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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A long reconstruction

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Some masterpieces

A hall for the feasts

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A symbol for the town

A half-Baroque church

Feast days

The interior and its masterpieces

The Maiolica of the staircase

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The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A colourful floor

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Some prestigious works

Discovering the mother church

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Many owners, one palace

The colours of the cathedral

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The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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A triumph of colour

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

The Baroque town by the sea

Norman apses

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A new site for a new church

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The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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A new site for a new city

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The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Between white and black

Feasting in Palazzolo

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Two illustrious patron saints

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Prominent façade

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A prominent church

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

A square as the heart of the city

The two churches

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A city in colour

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The chocolate of Modica

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Searching for colour

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The internal colours

A miniature city

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A museum to save a tradition

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