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.

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The colours of the cathedral

Searching for colour

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A half-Baroque church

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The chocolate of Modica

One city, two sites

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A new site for a new church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

Between white and black

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

A triumph of colour

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A miniature city

Prominent façade

A colourful floor

The Burgos crucifix

Wonderful quick decorations

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Baroque town by the sea

A majestic and luminous church

A talking palace

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The theatre of taste

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

Discovering the mother church

Feast days

The interior and its masterpieces

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

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A feast only for Scicli

A long reconstruction

Some masterpieces

The Maiolica of the staircase

A museum to save a tradition

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

New roads for Catania

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

A new site for a new city

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A city in colour

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

The two churches

The church of Carmine

Many owners, one palace

The internal colours

A prominent church

Two illustrious patron saints

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A square as the heart of the city

From International Gothic to present day

One city, three sites

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

An eagle-shaped city

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A small room with a golden entrance

The city of museums

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A symbol for the town

A hall for the feasts

Some prestigious works

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Staircase of Angels

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Feasting in Palazzolo

Norman apses

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The disastrous earthquake