Caltagirone

A museum to save a tradition

In 1965, the Museum of Ceramics was founded in order to save a centuries-old tradition. Located on one of the main streets, Via Roma, the location was refurbished before the inauguration.
It has a special entrance, a 19th-century portico that rests on a tall raised structure accessed by a series of staircases. The maiolica decorations make it extra special, embellishing and adding colour to the façade.
The museum contains pottery from the Greek age until the beginning of the 20th century, including collections of Arab, Norman, Suevian and Aragonese artefacts.

foto ceramiche in ordine di descrizione per periodo

foto ceramiche in ordine di descrizione per periodo foto ceramiche in ordine di descrizione per periodo
The pottery is exhibited in four large rooms, where there are around 2500 artefacts and work from the ancient, medieval, post-medieval and modern worlds. The collections mostly come from the Civic Museum of Caltagirone and the “ Luigi Sturzo “, State Institute of Art for Ceramics, but also from other Sicilian museums such as the Russo-Perez collection or from private collectors including Professor Antonino Ragona.

One city, two sites

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

From International Gothic to present day

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The colours of the cathedral

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Searching for colour

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A miniature city

Two illustrious patron saints

The disastrous earthquake

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

Feast days

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

One city, three sites

The theatre of taste

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Some masterpieces

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

A new site for a new city

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Some prestigious works

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A new site for a new church

A half-Baroque church

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

New roads for Catania

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

The church of Carmine

The Staircase of Angels

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Wonderful quick decorations

The chocolate of Modica

The wall comes to life

A triumph of colour

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

Between white and black

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A prominent church

The Burgos crucifix

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A city in colour

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

Many owners, one palace

Discovering the mother church

A long reconstruction

A hall for the feasts

Prominent façade

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The two churches

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A majestic and luminous church

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The city of museums

A museum to save a tradition

A colourful floor

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A talking palace

An eagle-shaped city

Norman apses

A symbol for the town

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Baroque town by the sea

The internal colours

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Feasting in Palazzolo

A feast only for Scicli

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A small room with a golden entrance