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 Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A new site for a new city

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A small room with a golden entrance

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

A city in colour

A symbol for the town

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The city of museums

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A square as the heart of the city

A half-Baroque church

One city, two sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The chocolate of Modica

The interior and its masterpieces

The church of Carmine

Many owners, one palace

Some prestigious works

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A miniature city

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Two illustrious patron saints

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A museum to save a tradition

A prominent church

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Prominent façade

Feast days

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

The Staircase of Angels

An eagle-shaped city

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

Some masterpieces

The disastrous earthquake

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A long reconstruction

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

One city, three sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The two churches

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

The internal colours

Searching for colour

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A hall for the feasts

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A talking palace

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A triumph of colour

Between white and black

The theatre of taste

A majestic and luminous church

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

The Burgos crucifix

New roads for Catania

From International Gothic to present day

Wonderful quick decorations

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Discovering the mother church

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

The colours of the cathedral

A new site for a new church

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Feasting in Palazzolo

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Maiolica of the staircase

Norman apses

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A colourful floor

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers