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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

Prominent façade

An eagle-shaped city

The internal colours

A small room with a golden entrance

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The wall comes to life

One city, three sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

A colourful floor

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The theatre of taste

A long reconstruction

The chocolate of Modica

The interior and its masterpieces

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

A talking palace

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Feast days

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A city in colour

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Burgos crucifix

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

Between white and black

The church of Carmine

The two churches

New roads for Catania

The Staircase of Angels

A symbol for the town

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A new site for a new church

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

A half-Baroque church

The colours of the cathedral

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

A majestic and luminous church

A miniature city

A museum to save a tradition

Norman apses

Two illustrious patron saints

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Discovering the mother church

The Maiolica of the staircase

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

The city of museums

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Searching for colour

Many owners, one palace

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A prominent church

Feasting in Palazzolo

A new site for a new city

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

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

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A triumph of colour

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

The disastrous earthquake

Wonderful quick decorations

From International Gothic to present day

Some masterpieces

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A feast only for Scicli

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

A square as the heart of the city

Some prestigious works

One city, two sites

A hall for the feasts