Catania

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

One of the most evocative rooms of the monastery is the kitchen.
foto cucina della portaLike the refectory, antirefectory, library and museum, the space dedicated to preparing food was designed by Giovan Battista Vaccarini and its construction began in 1739.
foto cucina dei benedettiniThe architect had to take into account the rules of monastic architecture, which meant separating the kitchen from the other rooms. This way, if there was a fire, it would not spread to the other rooms.
Similarly, the passageways leading to the refectory as well as being narrow were equipped with multiple barriers.
The kitchen underwent various changes over the years, but the structure has remained the same with the hearths in the centre, a huge brazier placed in an octagonal “chamber”.
The maiolica decorations that enrich the structure create splendid orange and blue squares with a white background of abstract motifs. The floor is just as surprising. Also made with colourful maiolica tiles, it extends across the whole room. However, the floor is not simple or uniform; it is divided into eight parts with two different alternating decorations.
The first is a white floor with fine blue, black and yellow geometric decorations that cover the smaller portions; the other is larger and more colourful, where yellow and green dominate the blue, orange and white decoration. foto Dettaglio maioliche

Searching for colour

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A majestic and luminous church

A square as the heart of the city

Some prestigious works

One city, two sites

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Staircase of Angels

A miniature city

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Some masterpieces

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Baroque town by the sea

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The interior and its masterpieces

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The colours of the cathedral

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A symbol for the town

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The two churches

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

New roads for Catania

Wonderful quick decorations

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

A city in colour

Feasting in Palazzolo

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A new site for a new city

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Two illustrious patron saints

A new site for a new church

One city, three sites

Many owners, one palace

A hall for the feasts

The city of museums

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A triumph of colour

Feast days

The Maiolica of the staircase

The church of Carmine

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

Norman apses

Between white and black

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Discovering the mother church

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 Giuseppe

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

The theatre of taste

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

From International Gothic to present day

Prominent façade

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A long reconstruction

Limestone, the colour of harmony

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The chocolate of Modica

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

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

A museum to save a tradition

A talking palace

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A colourful floor

A small room with a golden entrance

A prominent church

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

An eagle-shaped city

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

A half-Baroque church

The internal colours

A feast only for Scicli

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The disastrous earthquake

The wall comes to life

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Burgos crucifix