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.

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

The Church of St. Francis

The Church of St. Benedict

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

The Benedictines’ library

The works in the church

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

The church and the college

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

Piazza Duomo, the elephant fountain, the heart of the city

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

The articulated interior spaces

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

Altars, saints and sculptural works

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the Benedictine Monastery and the Church of San Nicolò l’Arena

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

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

City and nature

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

The church and the monastery

Art in the cathedral

Luminous sacred spaces

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

The new roads of the city

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

A story of rebirth

A casket of precious works

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

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

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

The casket of austerity under the great dome

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

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

St. Agatha and the candelore

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

The Church of St. Paul

The city within the city

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

The art of maiolica

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

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

Geometry and wonder in civic architecture in the Baroque of the Val di Noto

Reconstruction after the earthquake

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

A heritage of votive works

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

Religious architecture

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

The Church of Madonna della Stella

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The two churches

The city palace

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

The Franciscan convent

Verticality and dynamism of the façade of the Church of San Carlo

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

The senses tell the story of the Sanctuary Church of Santa Maria della Stella

A unifying project for the city of Catania

A stone garden

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

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

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

The interior and works of art

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

The palace, the town, the church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

The interior of the church: space and colour

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Carlo and the former Jesuit college

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

The Palazzo dei due mori

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

The neo-Gothic seminary chapel: symbols, light and space

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The church of San Nicolò l’Arena: the majesty of an unfinished beauty

The eagle-shaped city

The expansion of space and changing reality

One city, three sites

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

Views denied, views conquered: the power of the devout Benedictines