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 Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Many owners, one palace

The wall comes to life

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The internal colours

Between white and black

New roads for Catania

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

The disastrous earthquake

Feast days

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A long reconstruction

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

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

A talking palace

A miniature city

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A colourful floor

A triumph of colour

A prominent church

A feast only for Scicli

The theatre of taste

A new site for a new city

The chocolate of Modica

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Staircase of Angels

A Nobel Prize in Modica

One city, three sites

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Some prestigious works

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The church of Carmine

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Burgos crucifix

A small room with a golden entrance

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Norman apses

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A hall for the feasts

One city, two sites

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The two churches

The Baroque town by the sea

St. Sebastian, so much work!

From International Gothic to present day

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A city in colour

The city of museums

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Prominent façade

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Searching for colour

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

Two illustrious patron saints

A half-Baroque church

A museum to save a tradition

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

An eagle-shaped city

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

A symbol for the town

A new site for a new church

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Maiolica of the staircase

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A square as the heart of the city

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Discovering the mother church

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The colours of the cathedral