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 San Sebastiano

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A hall for the feasts

The internal colours

Searching for colour

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

One city, two sites

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

The colours of the cathedral

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A talking palace

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Discovering the mother church

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

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

The church of Carmine

From International Gothic to present day

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

The disastrous earthquake

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The city of museums

Norman apses

Many owners, one palace

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The two churches

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

An eagle-shaped city

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Burgos crucifix

The wall comes to life

A small room with a golden entrance

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

A miniature city

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Prominent façade

The theatre of taste

One city, three sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A colourful floor

Feast days

Two illustrious patron saints

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The interior and its masterpieces

A feast only for Scicli

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A new site for a new city

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A symbol for the town

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Wonderful quick decorations

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A long reconstruction

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A new site for a new church

The Staircase of Angels

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Baroque town by the sea

New roads for Catania

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

Some prestigious works

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A triumph of colour

A museum to save a tradition

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A prominent church

Between white and black

Feasting in Palazzolo