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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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The disastrous earthquake

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A new site for a new church

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The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Burgos crucifix

A colourful floor

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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Feast days

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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A long reconstruction

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The Staircase of Angels

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The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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A Nobel Prize in Modica

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New roads for Catania

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The Maiolica of the staircase

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Some prestigious works

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A miniature city

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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Many owners, one palace

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St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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The wall comes to life

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The façade used as a puppet theatre

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Two illustrious patron saints

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Searching for colour

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Prominent façade

A prominent church

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A museum to save a tradition

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A half-Baroque church

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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Between white and black

Norman apses

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara