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 small room with a golden entrance

Some prestigious works

Prominent façade

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A half-Baroque church

A symbol for the town

A prominent church

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Some masterpieces

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A city in colour

Searching for colour

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A new site for a new city

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

The Baroque town by the sea

The chocolate of Modica

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A museum to save a tradition

The interior and its masterpieces

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The city of museums

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

The Burgos crucifix

New roads for Catania

A square as the heart of the city

The Maiolica of the staircase

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The colours of the cathedral

The church of Carmine

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A talking palace

An eagle-shaped city

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

One city, two sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

One city, three sites

Two illustrious patron saints

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A long reconstruction

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

A feast only for Scicli

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A miniature city

The wall comes to life

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Between white and black

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Wonderful quick decorations

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Feasting in Palazzolo

A colourful floor

Many owners, one palace

The internal colours

From International Gothic to present day

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

A triumph of colour

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A hall for the feasts

The two churches

Feast days

The disastrous earthquake

The theatre of taste

Norman apses

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

A new site for a new church

Discovering the mother church

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Modica, a city with ancient origins