Catania

The colours of the cathedral

The contrast of colours offered by the cathedral’s façade is the result of specific choices by its architect Giovanni Battista Vaccarini .

The cathedral of Sant'Agata
The cathedral of Sant’Agata overlooks the wide Piazza Duomo from which it is physically divided by a balustrade. After passing there is a churchyard to cross before you can access the interior of the basilica. The exterior has a facade that is divided into three floors: in the lower part are placed the main portal and the two sides, surmounted by large oval windows; in the center of the second floor there is a niche with the statue of Saint Agatha and the angels; closes the third and last floor closed by a triangular tympanum. For the facade the materials chosen were white limestone and gray lava stone. Together they create on the facade a geometric game where white often creates a frame around the black. In other cases the white highlights some architectural elements such as the capital or the base of the columns.

Grey lava stone and white marble were used, which, by alternating their use, bestow liveliness upon the façade. The façade is split into three levels: in the lowest part there are the main portal and two lateral portals, each surmounted by large oval windows; on the second level, in a niche , on a blue background with red beams, there is a white statue of St. Agatha and the angels; finally, a triangular tympanum completes the third level.
Cattedrale di Sant'Agata : foto prospetto ravvicinata Statua di Sant'Agata nella nicchia
Colour also features inside the church. At the entrance, two pairs of red columns welcome visitors and a marble floor in various colours (red, green, yellow and white) leads worshippers to the altar.foto dall'ingresso verso l'altare, comprese coppie di colonneThe church has a Latin cross plan and is divided into three naves by large limestone pillars with a grey lava stone base. This adds brightness to the whole room, which is amplified by light coming in through the windows of the nave.
At the end of the church you can admire the decorations on the main apse by painter Giovanni Battista Corradini, who painted the Trionfo di Sant’Agata (Triumph of St. Agatha).

The Staircase of Angels

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Some masterpieces

A square as the heart of the city

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Discovering the mother church

Two illustrious patron saints

A hall for the feasts

A half-Baroque church

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A majestic and luminous church

A prominent church

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The colours of the cathedral

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

A museum to save a tradition

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

New roads for Catania

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Between white and black

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Many owners, one palace

A triumph of colour

A talking palace

Wonderful quick decorations

A colourful floor

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The city of museums

Feasting in Palazzolo

The interior and its masterpieces

The internal colours

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A miniature city

The two churches

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Some prestigious works

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The church of Carmine

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The chocolate of Modica

A symbol for the town

Prominent façade

Norman apses

A feast only for Scicli

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The theatre of taste

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A small room with a golden entrance

One city, two sites

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

A city in colour

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

One city, three sites

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Baroque town by the sea

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

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

Feast days

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

An eagle-shaped city

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A new site for a new church

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The disastrous earthquake

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A new site for a new city

Searching for colour