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 internal colours

A new site for a new city

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A new site for a new church

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Burgos crucifix

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

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A symbol for the town

From International Gothic to present day

The Baroque town by the sea

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A majestic and luminous church

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The two churches

A small room with a golden entrance

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A city in colour

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The disastrous earthquake

A half-Baroque church

The interior and its masterpieces

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A triumph of colour

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Wonderful quick decorations

A museum to save a tradition

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The city of museums

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A long reconstruction

A hall for the feasts

Searching for colour

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A talking palace

Norman apses

A colourful floor

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

The church of Carmine

The colours of the cathedral

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

The theatre of taste

A miniature city

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Two illustrious patron saints

A square as the heart of the city

One city, two sites

Discovering the mother church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Some prestigious works

A prominent church

Between white and black

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Prominent façade

A feast only for Scicli

Feast days

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

One city, three sites

The Maiolica of the staircase

New roads for Catania

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

The wall comes to life

Many owners, one palace

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Connections with other UNESCO sites

An eagle-shaped city