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 Staircase of Angels

The two churches

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

Religious architecture

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

St. Agatha and the candelore

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

The Church of St. Francis

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

The casket of austerity under the great dome

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

A story of rebirth

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

The interior and works of art

The Palazzo dei due mori

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Art in the cathedral

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

The church and the college

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

The Benedictines’ library

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

The city within the city

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

Luminous sacred spaces

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

A stone garden

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

The palace, the town, the church

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

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

City and nature

A unifying project for the city of Catania

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

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

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

The articulated interior spaces

The church and the monastery

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The works in the church

The new roads of the city

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

The city palace

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

A heritage of votive works

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

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

The expansion of space and changing reality

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

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

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

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

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

A casket of precious works

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

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

One city, three sites

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

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

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

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

The eagle-shaped city

Altars, saints and sculptural works

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

The Church of St. Benedict

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The art of maiolica

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

The interior of the church: space and colour

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

The Church of Madonna della Stella

The Franciscan convent

The Church of St. Paul

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

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

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

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

Reconstruction after the earthquake

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