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

A new site for a new city

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The chocolate of Modica

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A city in colour

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Some prestigious works

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

Feast days

A feast only for Scicli

The internal colours

Searching for colour

A hall for the feasts

From International Gothic to present day

Some masterpieces

A miniature city

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The wall comes to life

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A talking palace

The church of Carmine

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Between white and black

The city of museums

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A symbol for the town

Feasting in Palazzolo

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Baroque town by the sea

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The colours of the cathedral

A majestic and luminous church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A square as the heart of the city

The disastrous earthquake

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

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

A new site for a new church

Discovering the mother church

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A triumph of colour

A prominent church

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

One city, two sites

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

A museum to save a tradition

One city, three sites

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Prominent façade

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

The Staircase of Angels

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The theatre of taste

The interior and its masterpieces

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

St. Sebastian, so much work!

An eagle-shaped city

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The two churches

The Burgos crucifix

Wonderful quick decorations

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

Norman apses

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Two illustrious patron saints

Many owners, one palace

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public