Caltagirone

A colourful floor

The interior of the church of Santa Chiara (St. Claire) is surprising for the brightness with which it welcomes us.
The delicate colour of the walls, a very light orange, combined with the white capitals is also found in the corbels that support the louvre galleries;
The white sandstone capitals support the wooden structures, which are lacquered with a gentle sky blue colour and embellished with gold-coloured silver leaves. But what is most striking is the splendid maiolica floor that covers the church.

foto tribunetta di legno  foto ampia porzione del pavimento

foto delle tribunette, gelosie

The floor that can be admired today in Caltagirone is not the original one.
The first floor was created in 1749 by the potter Francesco Branciforte from Caltagirone, funded by the Bonanno del Polino family.
The family coat of arms was inserted in the middle of the maiolica tile design.
In 1886, following the Italian Unification, the monastic orders lost their properties.
The church of Santa Chiara (St. Claire) remained open and was maintained thanks to the generosity of Gaetano Bonanno di Polino, then his daughter, the Marquise Bonanno.
In 1942, the family gave the church away. In 1952, the floor was replaced. It was rebuilt using the same technique and copying the old design, in memory of the Bonanno family.
Yellow, green and turquoise stand out from the white background, creating a floral motif on the floor with a two-headed eagle in the middle containing the family crest.

The church of Santa Chiara
The church of Santa Chiara is located in Via Giovanni Bosco and among the wonders that are located there is a beautiful pavement. In the center there is the coat of arms of the Bonanno family of Polino who financed the work. On a white background is drawn a large floral pattern with bright yellow, green and turquoise colors. At the center in honor of the family Bonanno del Polino was represented a two-headed eagle that contains the family crest. Given the perfect state of preservation it should be remembered that this is not the original flooring of 1749, but is a remake of 1952.
Wonderful quick decorations

The two churches

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The church of Carmine

The Baroque town by the sea

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A majestic and luminous church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A talking palace

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

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

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

Between white and black

A prominent church

A colourful floor

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A museum to save a tradition

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Burgos crucifix

Prominent façade

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Two illustrious patron saints

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

A symbol for the town

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A half-Baroque church

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

New roads for Catania

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The colours of the cathedral

Some masterpieces

A square as the heart of the city

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The disastrous earthquake

A city in colour

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

The interior and its masterpieces

The theatre of taste

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A new site for a new city

The Staircase of Angels

The internal colours

Some prestigious works

The Maiolica of the staircase

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

Feast days

One city, three sites

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

A small room with a golden entrance

A triumph of colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Norman apses

One city, two sites

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The chocolate of Modica

A long reconstruction

Many owners, one palace

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

A new site for a new church

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

A miniature city

The city of museums

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The wall comes to life

Searching for colour

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A hall for the feasts