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 senses tell the story of the Badia di Sant’Agata

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The disastrous earthquake

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The church of Carmine

A long reconstruction

The colours of the cathedral

A new site for a new church

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The Staircase of Angels

A hall for the feasts

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A miniature city

A half-Baroque church

Many owners, one palace

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A colourful floor

Wonderful quick decorations

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

New roads for Catania

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The theatre of taste

Some prestigious works

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

One city, two sites

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Some masterpieces

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A talking palace

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

A majestic and luminous church

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Norman apses

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Feasting in Palazzolo

Searching for colour

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Between white and black

A museum to save a tradition

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Connections with other UNESCO sites

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A city in colour

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

Discovering the mother church

The Burgos crucifix

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The city of museums

A square as the heart of the city

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A new site for a new city

Feast days

One city, three sites

The internal colours

The chocolate of Modica

An eagle-shaped city

A triumph of colour

The two churches

Two illustrious patron saints

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A feast only for Scicli

The Maiolica of the staircase

Prominent façade

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A Nobel Prize in Modica

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A symbol for the town

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The wall comes to life

The interior and its masterpieces

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A prominent church

A small room with a golden entrance

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Baroque town by the sea

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo