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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The disastrous earthquake

Between white and black

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Many owners, one palace

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

New roads for Catania

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

Searching for colour

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A triumph of colour

From International Gothic to present day

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

The theatre of taste

A symbol for the town

A new site for a new city

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

One city, three sites

A talking palace

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

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

Some masterpieces

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

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

The internal colours

A feast only for Scicli

A half-Baroque church

A city in colour

Two illustrious patron saints

Norman apses

A Nobel Prize in Modica

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The façade used as a puppet theatre

An eagle-shaped city

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The interior and its masterpieces

Some prestigious works

A long reconstruction

Wonderful quick decorations

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Burgos crucifix

A small room with a golden entrance

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

One city, two sites

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

A miniature city

A museum to save a tradition

Prominent façade

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The two churches

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The church of Carmine

The wall comes to life

The city of museums

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A majestic and luminous church

The chocolate of Modica

A square as the heart of the city

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Baroque town by the sea

A prominent church

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A hall for the feasts

A new site for a new church

A colourful floor

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

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

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Feast days