Catania

The Staircase of Angels

The entrance to the wonderful church of San Benedetto (St. Benedict) is up the scala degli angeli (staircase of angels).
It was built to solve the problem of connecting the church to the street level, which is 7 metres lower. The staircase is one of the most characteristic examples of Sicilian Baroque. Its uniqueness, and name, is due to the sculptures of angels in marble stucco , a less valuable material than marble. It is no coincidence that this poor material was also used to highlight the church interior.
For the same reason it was left entirely white with a few golden decorations, so that the triumph of colour in the frescoes was even more evident and the contrast even greater.
Everything outside the church had to be made of less valuable materials. In fact, the main altar, the focus of the worshippers’ attention, was made of pure gold and silver.
Worshippers were to have no distractions; they would have had a clear idea of what the centre of their attention should have been: the altar, where religious service took place.

A long reconstruction

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

The colours of the cathedral

The two churches

From International Gothic to present day

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The disastrous earthquake

The Baroque town by the sea

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

Discovering the mother church

The internal colours

A new site for a new city

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Searching for colour

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A talking palace

A half-Baroque church

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Norman apses

Two illustrious patron saints

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Some prestigious works

A city in colour

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The interior and its masterpieces

A square as the heart of the city

A triumph of colour

Between white and black

The Burgos crucifix

Limestone, the colour of harmony

One city, two sites

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

A new site for a new church

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The wall comes to life

A prominent church

A symbol for the town

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The chocolate of Modica

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A majestic and luminous church

Feast days

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The city of museums

A Nobel Prize in Modica

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The Maiolica of the staircase

A colourful floor

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Staircase of Angels

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A miniature city

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

A feast only for Scicli

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

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

Some masterpieces

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Prominent façade

New roads for Catania

One city, three sites

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A hall for the feasts

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The theatre of taste

The church of Carmine

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