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 Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A miniature city

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

The interior and its masterpieces

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

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

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The city of museums

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A museum to save a tradition

A small room with a golden entrance

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Norman apses

The Baroque town by the sea

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A new site for a new city

Feast days

The Burgos crucifix

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

The colours of the cathedral

The disastrous earthquake

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The internal colours

Some masterpieces

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The wall comes to life

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A symbol for the town

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Limestone, the colour of harmony

St. Sebastian, so much work!

New roads for Catania

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

One city, three sites

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

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

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

Between white and black

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The two churches

Searching for colour

A talking palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

Some prestigious works

A city in colour

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Feasting in Palazzolo

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Maiolica of the staircase

A half-Baroque church

A hall for the feasts

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A colourful floor

Two illustrious patron saints

The Staircase of Angels

Wonderful quick decorations

The chocolate of Modica

A prominent church

A long reconstruction

A triumph of colour

From International Gothic to present day

Many owners, one palace

One city, two sites

A new site for a new church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A majestic and luminous church

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The theatre of taste

A feast only for Scicli

A square as the heart of the city

An eagle-shaped city

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Discovering the mother church

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The church of Carmine

Prominent façade