Luigi Sturzo was born in Caltagirone on 26 November 1871 and took his vows in the monastery of Acireale in 1883. Five years later Sturzo returned to Caltagirone. In 1894 he moved to Rome where he graduated in Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University. In the following years he was involved ...

A pediment is the surface that delimits the tympanum by following its shape; it can be triangular, curvilinear or mixtilinear. It indicates the final element of a façade with a sloping roof or the crowning of other architectural elements such as a portal, aedicula or window....

The term "coupled" means two equal twin elements. Coupled columns are two columns that are close together....

In architecture, a tympanum corresponds to the triangular area defined by a frame called a pediment, whose surface can be smooth, sculpted or painted. It can be found in the enclosing element on the short side of a Greek temple or in the crowning of the façades of a building or, in small dimensio...

A pilaster is an architectural element incorporated in the wall, required to support a building's structure. It takes the form of a pillar protruding only very slightly from the wall surface....

Lava stone is a type of material that derives from the solidified lava from Etna's eruptions. The lava that escapes and solidifies becomes very hard and takes on a dark grey colour. It is also called "pietra nigra" (black stone) and is used as a building material for terraces and walls. It is work...

In the 17th century the floors were decorated with geometric elements and the completely turquoise motif of the Persian palmette. There were also three other types. The first two were formed of maiolica and terracotta and had a perimeter of square maiolica tiles, while in the middle of the floor t...

St. Agatha is the patron saint of Catania. The people of Catania, who are highly devoted to her, organise festivities in her honour that last for three days, from 3rd to 5th February. St. Agatha was a young Christian aristocrat from Catania who, to avoid renouncing her faith in God, was imprisoned...

The museum was founded in 1965 by Don Luigi Sturzo and is entirely dedicated to pottery. The entrance to the museum is through an evocative 19th-century portico that crowns the 18th-century belvedere, creating a scenic structure composed of staircases and a jubilation of ceramic decorations. It...

Paolo Orsi, born in Rovereto in 1859, was one of the most important Italian archaeologists. He arrived in Syracuse in 1888, as a third-class inspector of the Excavations and Museums of Syracuse, under the direction of Francesco Saverio Cavallari. Orsi devoted himself to the study of prehistory, wi...