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 miniature city

An eagle-shaped city

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A new site for a new church

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Discovering the mother church

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Staircase of Angels

A triumph of colour

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Wonderful quick decorations

A hall for the feasts

The city of museums

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The church of Carmine

Feast days

Some masterpieces

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

One city, two sites

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The interior and its masterpieces

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

A city in colour

The Burgos crucifix

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The wall comes to life

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Norman apses

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Baroque town by the sea

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Feasting in Palazzolo

A symbol for the town

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

Some prestigious works

A half-Baroque church

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

One city, three sites

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Prominent façade

New roads for Catania

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

From International Gothic to present day

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

Two illustrious patron saints

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

A majestic and luminous church

A museum to save a tradition

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Searching for colour

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

A talking palace

The colours of the cathedral

The chocolate of Modica

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The two churches

Many owners, one palace

A small room with a golden entrance

The internal colours

Between white and black

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A colourful floor

The theatre of taste

A feast only for Scicli

A prominent church

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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