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

A long reconstruction

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A colourful floor

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

New roads for Catania

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

Wonderful quick decorations

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The city of museums

A half-Baroque church

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

Some masterpieces

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

From International Gothic to present day

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A museum to save a tradition

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Many owners, one palace

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

A symbol for the town

A majestic and luminous church

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Prominent façade

A feast only for Scicli

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The two churches

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Staircase of Angels

Norman apses

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A new site for a new church

The theatre of taste

The colours of the cathedral

A talking palace

The church of Carmine

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

Some prestigious works

Searching for colour

St. Sebastian, so much work!

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A triumph of colour

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A square as the heart of the city

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Feast days

The Burgos crucifix

One city, three sites

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

Two illustrious patron saints

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The internal colours

A small room with a golden entrance

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

A prominent church

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Between white and black

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A city in colour

The Baroque town by the sea

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The interior and its masterpieces

One city, two sites

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A new site for a new city

The Maiolica of the staircase

A miniature city

The wall comes to life