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 colourful floor

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

One city, two sites

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The disastrous earthquake

New roads for Catania

An eagle-shaped city

The internal colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Some prestigious works

The wall comes to life

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Searching for colour

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A talking palace

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

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The city of museums

Feasting in Palazzolo

A square as the heart of the city

One city, three sites

A small room with a golden entrance

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

A prominent church

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

From International Gothic to present day

The interior and its masterpieces

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Feast days

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

Many owners, one palace

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A city in colour

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A hall for the feasts

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The theatre of taste

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Wonderful quick decorations

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A feast only for Scicli

A majestic and luminous church

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Staircase of Angels

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Norman apses

Between white and black

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

A symbol for the town

The two churches

Discovering the mother church

Two illustrious patron saints

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

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Prominent façade

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

The church of Carmine

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A miniature city

The Maiolica of the staircase

A half-Baroque church

A museum to save a tradition

A triumph of colour

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The chocolate of Modica

A new site for a new city

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A long reconstruction

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A new site for a new church

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

The Burgos crucifix

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Some masterpieces