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 Chiara

The disastrous earthquake

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Norman apses

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

The theatre of taste

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

An eagle-shaped city

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A square as the heart of the city

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A majestic and luminous church

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The city of museums

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

New roads for Catania

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

One city, three sites

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Wonderful quick decorations

The chocolate of Modica

The wall comes to life

A museum to save a tradition

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A new site for a new church

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A feast only for Scicli

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Staircase of Angels

A prominent church

The Burgos crucifix

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

The church of Carmine

Between white and black

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

Feast days

Discovering the mother church

Some prestigious works

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The Baroque town by the sea

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

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Some masterpieces

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A long reconstruction

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The internal colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

From International Gothic to present day

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A small room with a golden entrance

A triumph of colour

Searching for colour

A colourful floor

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The two churches

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A hall for the feasts

The interior and its masterpieces

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A miniature city

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Prominent façade

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A talking palace

A new site for a new city

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

A symbol for the town

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A city in colour

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Two illustrious patron saints

One city, two sites