Caltagirone

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

hearing
Listening was important

With a little imagination you can return to 1800 when the church was still used by the nuns and you could listen to the liturgical celebrations.
Worshippers and the nuns attended mass. But there was a problem!
The nuns could not be seen by anyone because they lived in seclusion.
So how did they attend mass? Galleries, like a sort of box seat, were built with louvre blinds (grilles), behind which they could watch the celebrations without being seen.

touch
Touch to discover

Touching objects is one of our instincts and gives us an immediate connection to what is in front of us.
Touching the façade of Santa Chiara (St. Claire) would help us understand the material’s hardness, the stone’s temperature and the porosity of the surface (smooth or rough), giving us a great deal of information in a very short time.
When comparing this information with other objects, we uncover the differences between one material and another.
The maiolica tiles on the floor of Santa Chiara are colder and much smoother to the touch than the façade. The wood of the galleries, on the other hand, is warmer than the sandstone façade and the maiolica floor and balustrade.

sight
Antependium

The alter area hides a masterpiece: the antependium.
Situated in the front part of the altar, the artists took inspiration from Renaissance architecture for the decoration.
The result was a splendid scenographic effect, amplified by the use of mirrors and embellished with materials such as amber and wood covered with silver sheets, then worked to imitate gold.
The light that hits it creates wonderful reflections that illuminate the room. foto edificio a specchi

The Baroque town by the sea

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A hall for the feasts

The interior and its masterpieces

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Two illustrious patron saints

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Some prestigious works

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Modica, a city with ancient origins

One city, two sites

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

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

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Discovering the mother church

A prominent church

The internal colours

Many owners, one palace

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The theatre of taste

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A talking palace

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The two churches

Feast days

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A colourful floor

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A small room with a golden entrance

Norman apses

The Maiolica of the staircase

A feast only for Scicli

A majestic and luminous church

Searching for colour

A city in colour

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

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

Wonderful quick decorations

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

The disastrous earthquake

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The city of museums

The Staircase of Angels

Feasting in Palazzolo

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Burgos crucifix

The church of Carmine

One city, three sites

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Prominent façade

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A square as the heart of the city

Some masterpieces

A half-Baroque church

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Between white and black

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The chocolate of Modica

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

New roads for Catania

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

From International Gothic to present day

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A triumph of colour

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A new site for a new city

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

An eagle-shaped city

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A new site for a new church

A long reconstruction

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A symbol for the town

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A miniature city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto