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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Feast days

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A colourful floor

A new site for a new city

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

Many owners, one palace

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A majestic and luminous church

A talking palace

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

A new site for a new church

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Staircase of Angels

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Burgos crucifix

A triumph of colour

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Norman apses

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A small room with a golden entrance

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

Some masterpieces

The city of museums

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A prominent church

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Two illustrious patron saints

One city, two sites

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Wonderful quick decorations

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

A half-Baroque church

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

One city, three sites

The internal colours

The theatre of taste

Discovering the mother church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

New roads for Catania

The two churches

Feasting in Palazzolo

A long reconstruction

An eagle-shaped city

Between white and black

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Prominent façade

The wall comes to life

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A feast only for Scicli

A symbol for the town

A miniature city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The interior and its masterpieces

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

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

Some prestigious works

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

The chocolate of Modica

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Maiolica of the staircase

Searching for colour

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

From International Gothic to present day

A museum to save a tradition

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

A city in colour

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The church of Carmine

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)