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 the story of the church of Santa Maria del Carmelo

The theatre of taste

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Baroque town by the sea

New roads for Catania

A symbol for the town

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Wonderful quick decorations

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Some prestigious works

One city, three sites

A small room with a golden entrance

A prominent church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Burgos crucifix

Between white and black

Discovering the mother church

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A hall for the feasts

The two churches

A triumph of colour

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

Many owners, one palace

A new site for a new city

The Staircase of Angels

Prominent façade

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Norman apses

One city, two sites

A colourful floor

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

A city in colour

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The interior and its masterpieces

Some masterpieces

The wall comes to life

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A new site for a new church

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Feast days

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A long reconstruction

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A feast only for Scicli

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

The church of Carmine

A majestic and luminous church

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The city of museums

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

From International Gothic to present day

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A museum to save a tradition

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A talking palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A half-Baroque church

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Maiolica of the staircase

Two illustrious patron saints

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

Searching for colour

The internal colours

A miniature city

An eagle-shaped city

St. Sebastian, so much work!