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

A symbol for the town

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Feast days

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A miniature city

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Between white and black

The Baroque town by the sea

A new site for a new church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

A city in colour

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A feast only for Scicli

The city of museums

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The colours of the cathedral

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Some masterpieces

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The church of Carmine

Searching for colour

Prominent façade

The Burgos crucifix

Feasting in Palazzolo

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The disastrous earthquake

A prominent church

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Wonderful quick decorations

A talking palace

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

The wall comes to life

A museum to save a tradition

Norman apses

The Maiolica of the staircase

The internal colours

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The interior and its masterpieces

The chocolate of Modica

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

One city, two sites

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A new site for a new city

A hall for the feasts

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A triumph of colour

Two illustrious patron saints

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A square as the heart of the city

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

One city, three sites

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A small room with a golden entrance

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The theatre of taste

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Discovering the mother church

Many owners, one palace

New roads for Catania

The two churches

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A colourful floor

Some prestigious works

A long reconstruction

From International Gothic to present day

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