Catania

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

sight
Panoramic views to contemplate beauty

The Badia di Sant’Agata (St. Agatha’s Abbey) offers many panoramic viewpoints for contemplating the beauty of the entire historic centre. It’s certainly worth taking the long staircase that leads to the upper terraces and the walkway that surrounds the dome.
From here you can admire the entire city: the Bellini Theatre, the Cathedral, the Ursino Castle, the churches of Via Crociferi and all the artistic marvels that the city of Catania has to offer.
zoom cupola panoramica dalla cupola

smell
The scent of wax

The smell of wax is one of the most characteristic scents within the church and in the streets of Catania during the celebrations of the patron saint.
Votive candles are still produced today in Catania’s artisanal workshops using techniques and raw materials steeped in ancient knowledge.
There were originally two types of candles: those made with beeswax, which were more refined and expensive, and those made with animal fat, which were far cheaper but gave off an unpleasant smell and smoke.

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The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

The church and the college

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The articulated interior spaces

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Virtuosity, decorations and altars

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

Luminous sacred spaces

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

The city palace

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

The two churches

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The art of maiolica

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

The Franciscan convent

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

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The expansion of space and changing reality

The Duomo di San Giorgio (Cathedral of St. George)

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The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

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Religious architecture

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The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

Barresi-Branciforte: the lords of the fiefdom and the modernisation of the town

The Staircase of Angels

The Benedictines’ library

The Badia di Sant’Agata (St. Agatha’s Abbey)

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The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

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St. Agatha and the candelore

The city within the city

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The works in the church

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Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

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The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

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Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

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The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

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The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

City and nature

The freedom of worship and the Catholic Church’s role in the diffusion of Baroque

The Church of St. Paul

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The casket of austerity under the great dome

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A Nobel Prize in Modica