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 internal colours

The city of museums

A long reconstruction

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Prominent façade

Norman apses

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A city in colour

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

Some masterpieces

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A new site for a new church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

The Staircase of Angels

Two illustrious patron saints

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

One city, three sites

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A museum to save a tradition

An eagle-shaped city

New roads for Catania

The two churches

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Wonderful quick decorations

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A symbol for the town

A colourful floor

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A talking palace

Discovering the mother church

The church of Carmine

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

The wall comes to life

A miniature city

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A prominent church

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A majestic and luminous church

A feast only for Scicli

Feast days

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

One city, two sites

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The theatre of taste

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A triumph of colour

The chocolate of Modica

The disastrous earthquake

A new site for a new city

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Between white and black

A square as the heart of the city

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The interior and its masterpieces

A hall for the feasts

The colours of the cathedral

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Searching for colour

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Some prestigious works

A small room with a golden entrance

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Baroque town by the sea

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Feasting in Palazzolo

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

From International Gothic to present day