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 Nobel Prize in Modica

A prominent church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A half-Baroque church

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

Feast days

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

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

An eagle-shaped city

The theatre of taste

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A hall for the feasts

A new site for a new city

Norman apses

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A colourful floor

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The colours of the cathedral

Searching for colour

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

A talking palace

The Baroque town by the sea

A new site for a new church

A small room with a golden entrance

A museum to save a tradition

One city, two sites

A miniature city

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Discovering the mother church

Prominent façade

The Staircase of Angels

Some masterpieces

The internal colours

Between white and black

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The wall comes to life

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Wonderful quick decorations

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Maiolica of the staircase

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A feast only for Scicli

From International Gothic to present day

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

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The city of museums

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A majestic and luminous church

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

New roads for Catania

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A square as the heart of the city

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Burgos crucifix

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

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

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Some prestigious works

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

The church of Carmine

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Many owners, one palace

One city, three sites

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The interior and its masterpieces

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A triumph of colour

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A symbol for the town

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Two illustrious patron saints

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The chocolate of Modica

A long reconstruction

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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