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

From International Gothic to present day

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A miniature city

Feast days

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

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A triumph of colour

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A small room with a golden entrance

The wall comes to life

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A square as the heart of the city

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

An eagle-shaped city

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Burgos crucifix

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

A symbol for the town

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A new site for a new church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Searching for colour

The Staircase of Angels

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Some prestigious works

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A hall for the feasts

The Maiolica of the staircase

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A majestic and luminous church

The internal colours

The theatre of taste

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

A museum to save a tradition

New roads for Catania

The Baroque town by the sea

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

Two illustrious patron saints

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Between white and black

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The city of museums

A talking palace

The interior and its masterpieces

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A new site for a new city

A half-Baroque church

A colourful floor

Limestone, the colour of harmony

One city, three sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Prominent façade

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The chocolate of Modica

Norman apses

A city in colour

One city, two sites

The church of Carmine

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A prominent church

A feast only for Scicli

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Wonderful quick decorations

The colours of the cathedral

The disastrous earthquake

The two churches

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Discovering the mother church

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