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 senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The theatre of taste

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A miniature city

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A city in colour

From International Gothic to present day

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A small room with a golden entrance

The wall comes to life

Norman apses

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Two illustrious patron saints

A prominent church

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The colours of the cathedral

The Burgos crucifix

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

The city of museums

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Baroque town by the sea

A feast only for Scicli

A hall for the feasts

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Wonderful quick decorations

A symbol for the town

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The church of Carmine

A new site for a new church

One city, two sites

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

The chocolate of Modica

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

Between white and black

The internal colours

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Some prestigious works

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

An eagle-shaped city

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Some masterpieces

The Staircase of Angels

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

Feast days

A long reconstruction

The two churches

A half-Baroque church

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

A colourful floor

A new site for a new city

One city, three sites

Many owners, one palace

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A museum to save a tradition

Prominent façade

Searching for colour

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A talking palace

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The disastrous earthquake

The Maiolica of the staircase

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A majestic and luminous church

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

A triumph of colour

The interior and its masterpieces