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 colours of the cathedral

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A colourful floor

Prominent façade

The internal colours

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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One city, two sites

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Staircase of Angels

A long reconstruction

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Two illustrious patron saints

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A square as the heart of the city

The Maiolica of the staircase

A museum to save a tradition

Discovering the mother church

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

Many owners, one palace

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Some masterpieces

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The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Feast days

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The chocolate of Modica

Some prestigious works

A symbol for the town

The interior and its masterpieces

A triumph of colour

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

A talking palace

One city, three sites

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A new site for a new city

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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Limestone, the colour of harmony

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The city of museums

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

From International Gothic to present day

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The disastrous earthquake

New roads for Catania

A miniature city

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

Norman apses

A majestic and luminous church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A new site for a new church

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A prominent church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A hall for the feasts

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A feast only for Scicli

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A half-Baroque church

Between white and black

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The Burgos crucifix

An eagle-shaped city

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The theatre of taste

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A small room with a golden entrance

The wall comes to life

A city in colour

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Searching for colour

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The two churches

Wonderful quick decorations

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The church of Carmine