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 two churches

A colourful floor

A small room with a golden entrance

Feasting in Palazzolo

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A half-Baroque church

A majestic and luminous church

Between white and black

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Two illustrious patron saints

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The theatre of taste

A symbol for the town

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Some masterpieces

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A long reconstruction

A feast only for Scicli

Norman apses

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The interior and its masterpieces

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Prominent façade

An eagle-shaped city

A new site for a new city

Wonderful quick decorations

Some prestigious works

A prominent church

A new site for a new church

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The church of Carmine

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Staircase of Angels

A miniature city

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Many owners, one palace

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Searching for colour

The city of museums

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The Maiolica of the staircase

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Baroque town by the sea

The chocolate of Modica

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

One city, three sites

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A hall for the feasts

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Burgos crucifix

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The wall comes to life

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

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

A talking palace

From International Gothic to present day

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A triumph of colour

Feast days

A city in colour

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The internal colours

One city, two sites

Discovering the mother church

New roads for Catania

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

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

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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