Catania

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

sight
What a view!

If we climbed the steps leading to the terrace above the abbey of St. Agatha, perhaps we would be a little tired or out of breath, but there would be a splendid landscape before us.
The entire city can be seen from here: the Bellini Theatre, the Cathedral, the Ursino Castle, the churches on Via Crociferi and the great Benedictine monastery.
The cloistered nuns (who never left the monastery) used this terrace to participate in city life and attend processions without being seen.

smell
The scent of church candles

The smell of wax is one of the most characteristic scents inside a church and in the streets of Catania during the patron saint’s celebrations.
Votive candles are still produced today in Catania’s artisanal workshops using techniques and raw materials steeped in ancient knowledge.
There were originally two types of candles: those made with beeswax, which were more refined and expensive, and those made with animal fat, which were far cheaper but gave off an unpleasant smell and smoke.

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Norman apses

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

Wonderful quick decorations

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A miniature city

Searching for colour

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Between white and black

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Burgos crucifix

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A prominent church

A long reconstruction

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A majestic and luminous church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A city in colour

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A small room with a golden entrance

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The disastrous earthquake

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The chocolate of Modica

The city of museums

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

A new site for a new church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

Feast days

One city, two sites

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A half-Baroque church

From International Gothic to present day

A talking palace

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The wall comes to life

The interior and its masterpieces

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

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

Many owners, one palace

Two illustrious patron saints

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

One city, three sites

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Baroque town by the sea

The internal colours

A symbol for the town

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A triumph of colour

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

A new site for a new city

A square as the heart of the city

The Maiolica of the staircase

Prominent façade

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A colourful floor

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The church of Carmine

Some prestigious works

The two churches

The theatre of taste

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A feast only for Scicli

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

New roads for Catania

A hall for the feasts

A museum to save a tradition

Discovering the mother church

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom