Catania

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

sight
Brightness and light

Colour, light and more colour!
The vault is a riot of colour, capable of making the figures and shapes stand out, and leaving visitors gazing upwards.
As for the altar, it attracts attention thanks to the brilliance and shine of gold, silver and the precious sparkling stones used to decorate it.
The church is a treasure trove of precious jewels.

hearing
A sound to accompany prayer

It’s 1790 and you’re inside the church of St. Benedict, attending one of the services… You can hear something… what is it?
The organ!
With a sound alternating between gentle and low, it accompanies prayer as impressed worshippers celebrate Holy Mass.
Then the bells announce the end of the service.
Their chimes vibrate in the atmosphere and resonate along Via dei Crociferi.

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The disastrous earthquake

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A small room with a golden entrance

From International Gothic to present day

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

Searching for colour

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

Norman apses

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Wonderful quick decorations

A new site for a new church

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Prominent façade

The Maiolica of the staircase

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The internal colours

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Some prestigious works

A talking palace

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Many owners, one palace

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

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

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

An eagle-shaped city

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The theatre of taste

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A miniature city

New roads for Catania

A majestic and luminous church

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

A square as the heart of the city

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Baroque town by the sea

The colours of the cathedral

The Burgos crucifix

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A museum to save a tradition

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A colourful floor

A new site for a new city

A half-Baroque church

Two illustrious patron saints

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

One city, three sites

Some masterpieces

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A city in colour

A prominent church

The two churches

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

A triumph of colour

Feast days

The wall comes to life

The city of museums

A symbol for the town

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The interior and its masterpieces

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

Between white and black

One city, two sites

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Staircase of Angels

Discovering the mother church

The chocolate of Modica

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The church of Carmine

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A long reconstruction