Catania

A miniature city

foto portale ingressoThe Benedictine monastery of Catania, with its long history, is also known as “the city within the city”. Its large size and dozens of activities taking place inside make it seem like a small city, bordered by large walls and capable of interesting cultural exchange with the surrounding urban fabric.
Since the 1970s it has been the seat of the Faculty of Literature, Language and Philosophy of the University of Catania.
Today the monastery is accessed via the surrounding wall through a majestic portal that leads into the large courtyard surrounding the Abbey, passing the main staircase in Carrara marble with ninety-five steps.
It is a remarkable piece of architecture with a white staircase, walls decorated with gypsum bas-reliefs and stuccoes that accentuate the play on light and shadow, thus creating an elegant two-toned effect.
It leads to the corridors that bring us to the monks’ cells and the two cloisters.
The first cloister, to the east, is surrounded by a splendid portico in white Syracuse stone raised on a dark base and enhanced in the centre by the caffeaos (coffee house). The second cloister was rebuilt after the earthquake of 1693 and features a stark contrast between the dark plaster wall and the fifty-two white marble columns on the lower storey.
the centre, the majestic marble fountain offers a focal point for the space.foto scalone da pianerottolo volte piano superiore

New roads for Catania

An eagle-shaped city

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Searching for colour

Wonderful quick decorations

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A small room with a golden entrance

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A triumph of colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Discovering the mother church

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

From International Gothic to present day

A city in colour

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

Some masterpieces

A new site for a new city

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Two illustrious patron saints

The church of Carmine

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A miniature city

The Maiolica of the staircase

Prominent façade

The disastrous earthquake

The city of museums

A prominent church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

One city, three sites

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

The wall comes to life

The colours of the cathedral

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

The internal colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The two churches

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

A colourful floor

A long reconstruction

The Baroque town by the sea

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Limestone, the colour of harmony

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

One city, two sites

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Many owners, one palace

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Norman apses

A half-Baroque church

Feast days

A museum to save a tradition

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

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

The interior and its masterpieces

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A square as the heart of the city

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The chocolate of Modica

The theatre of taste

A symbol for the town

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A feast only for Scicli

Between white and black

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A new site for a new church

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

The Staircase of Angels

A talking palace

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Some prestigious works

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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