Catania

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

sight
Brightness and light

Colour, light and more colour!
The vault is a riot of colour, capable of making the figures and shapes stand out, and leaving visitors gazing upwards.
As for the altar, it attracts attention thanks to the brilliance and shine of gold, silver and the precious sparkling stones used to decorate it.
The church is a treasure trove of precious jewels.

hearing
A sound to accompany prayer

It’s 1790 and you’re inside the church of St. Benedict, attending one of the services… You can hear something… what is it?
The organ!
With a sound alternating between gentle and low, it accompanies prayer as impressed worshippers celebrate Holy Mass.
Then the bells announce the end of the service.
Their chimes vibrate in the atmosphere and resonate along Via dei Crociferi.

Between white and black

Many owners, one palace

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A miniature city

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The chocolate of Modica

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Connections with other UNESCO sites

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A prominent church

A talking palace

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A colourful floor

The wall comes to life

The Burgos crucifix

Wonderful quick decorations

Feast days

Some masterpieces

Two illustrious patron saints

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Norman apses

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

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

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

A feast only for Scicli

Some prestigious works

The Maiolica of the staircase

The Baroque town by the sea

The city of museums

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

One city, two sites

The disastrous earthquake

The Staircase of Angels

A triumph of colour

New roads for Catania

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A new site for a new church

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

A museum to save a tradition

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Discovering the mother church

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The two churches

Searching for colour

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A majestic and luminous church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

An eagle-shaped city

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A half-Baroque church

The theatre of taste

A symbol for the town

A long reconstruction

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

The church of Carmine

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

One city, three sites

The internal colours

A small room with a golden entrance

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The colours of the cathedral

Prominent façade

A city in colour

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A square as the heart of the city

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A hall for the feasts