Catania

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

sight
The façade with a play on colour

foto bicromiaOf all the wonders of Piazza Duomo, the cathedral certainly does not go unnoticed.
Thanks to a play on colour between the white limestone and grey lava stone, the façade figures prominently in the square.
The two colours alternate with one another to create a perfect harmony that adds liveliness to the façade.
The colours are not always the same; at different times of the day they shine differently depending on the light.

touch
Coarse to smooth, hot to cold

Look but don’t touch! How many times have you heard this said in museums or churches?
But if you could touch each material that made up the church you would notice how different they are; starting with the pillars that separate the central nave from the lateral naves, the former in lava stone and the latter in white limestone.
On a hot summer day, the outside walls will be much warmer than those inside, which will be undoubtedly cold.

hearing
Music in the Cathedral

foto dell'organo l'interno della cattedraleThe church has an unbreakable bond with music.
The cathedral of St. Agatha is not only home to a magnificent organ, now located above the entrance, but the tomb of the musician Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835).
Though he died very young, he was recognised as one of the greatest composers of his time.
The artist’s tomb was created in 1876 by Giovanni Battista Tassara and is located next to one of the pillars of the right nave.
Bellini was initially buried in Paris at the Père Lachaise Cemetery.

taste
A dessert for a saint

During the feast dedicated to St. Agatha, the “Minne di Sant’Agata”, a dessert made in her honour, are another must.
The shape is unambiguously reminiscent of a woman’s breast, in memory of the terrible martyrdom suffered by the saint.
The dessert consists of a shortcrust pastry shell covered with white icing with a candied cherry on top; the filling is made with sweetened sheep’s milk ricotta, candied fruit and dark chocolate. Yum! Not to be missed if you happen to be in Catania during the feast. foto dei dolci delle minne di Sant'Agata

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Some prestigious works

The theatre of taste

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St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Baroque town by the sea

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Searching for colour

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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Feasting in Palazzolo

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The Maiolica of the staircase

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Limestone, the colour of harmony

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The Staircase of Angels

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The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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Norman apses

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The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The disastrous earthquake

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A symbol for the town

Many owners, one palace

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The interior and its masterpieces

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The chocolate of Modica

A hall for the feasts

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The Burgos crucifix

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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One city, two sites

A half-Baroque church

A talking palace

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The internal colours

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

Two illustrious patron saints

Wonderful quick decorations

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A museum to save a tradition

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The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Discovering the mother church

Between white and black

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

Feast days

The church of Carmine

A long reconstruction

The colours of the cathedral