Catania

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The work of the Benedictines not only followed religious and charitable commitments, but scientific undertakings, too. The monastery’s first collection of books was probably created at its foundation and used exclusively by the monks. The monks also followed strict Benedictine rule through the study of literature and science.
They established relations with the city’s cultural institutions and acquired important collections over the centuries.
There were around 24,000 volumes of rare, ancient and modern manuscripts and parchments; the monks were great connoisseurs and disseminators of ancient knowledge. After the eruption of 1669 and the earthquake of 1693 the monastery suffered great losses but the monks managed to save part of the collection, which they kept until the library was rebuilt.
The construction of the library’s new main hall was entrusted to Vaccarini, who designed it with typical elements from late Baroque art.
In fact, the giant central plan hall, the “Sala Vaccarini” (Vaccarini Hall), is an important room covered almost completely by wooden bookshelves in order that nearly reach the decorated vault, placed between the round windows that illuminate the room.
In addition to the hall there were five other sumptuous rooms used for the Benedictine Museum and designed to closely match the library. Today the former museum rooms are home to the library’s reference and reading rooms.

St. Sebastian, so much work!

From International Gothic to present day

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The chocolate of Modica

A small room with a golden entrance

New roads for Catania

An eagle-shaped city

Many owners, one palace

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The two churches

Some prestigious works

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Two illustrious patron saints

A prominent church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A new site for a new church

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

A museum to save a tradition

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A long reconstruction

A symbol for the town

A new site for a new city

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Between white and black

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Searching for colour

Norman apses

One city, three sites

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Staircase of Angels

One city, two sites

A square as the heart of the city

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

The city of museums

A half-Baroque church

The disastrous earthquake

The church of Carmine

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A miniature city

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A majestic and luminous church

Prominent façade

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The wall comes to life

Feast days

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

The colours of the cathedral

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

Discovering the mother church

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A colourful floor

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A city in colour

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

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Baroque town by the sea

A triumph of colour

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

The interior and its masterpieces

The theatre of taste

A talking palace

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A hall for the feasts

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The internal colours

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Wonderful quick decorations

The Burgos crucifix

Some masterpieces