Catania

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

Portale Maggiore
The most original element of Vaccarini ‘s composition is found in the chromatic variations resulting from the use of different materials for the façade.
The three-level façade houses, in the lower section, the main portal flanked by two statues of St. Peter and St. Paul and the two smaller side portals, surmounted by large oval windows.

trabeazione cattedrale sant'AgataThe first level has six free-standing columns in red granite, perhaps from the Roman Theatre of Catania. The second level is divided by six columns placed at the sides of a large window that illuminates the central nave, and houses, in the centre of the niche, the statue of St. Agatha flanked by angels.
The façade is defined with a tympanum supported by four minor columns.
The interior of the cathedral is an absolute wonder.
As you enter it, you can sense the greatness of the Baroque reconstruction that continues to interact with some Norman period elements made entirely of lava stone .
The mighty pillars in yellow limestone rest on lava stone bases, dividing the three naves.
From the entrance, enriched by two pairs of red columns on a marble base, extends a polychrome marble floor with geometric designs. All these elements create a strong perspective centred on the altar, increasing the room’s scenic impact.
pavimento in marmo policromipavimento in marmo policromi

The works in the church

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

The Palazzo dei due mori

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Carlo and the former Jesuit college

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

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

Religious architecture

A heritage of votive works

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The eagle-shaped city

A stone garden

The freedom of worship and the Catholic Church’s role in the diffusion of Baroque

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

The city within the city

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

The palace, the town, the church

The casket of austerity under the great dome

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

Piazza Duomo, the elephant fountain, the heart of the city

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The church and the monastery

Views denied, views conquered: the power of the devout Benedictines

Art in the cathedral

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

The Badia di Sant’Agata (St. Agatha’s Abbey)

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the Benedictine Monastery and the Church of San Nicolò l’Arena

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

The interior and works of art

A story of rebirth

One city, three sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

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

Luminous sacred spaces

Reconstruction after the earthquake

The senses tell the story of the Sanctuary Church of Santa Maria della Stella

Barresi-Branciforte: the lords of the fiefdom and the modernisation of the town

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

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

The neo-Gothic seminary chapel: symbols, light and space

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

The Church of St. Francis

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

The church and the college

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

The expansion of space and changing reality

The two churches

The Benedictines’ library

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

The new roads of the city

Altars, saints and sculptural works

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

The Duomo di San Giorgio (Cathedral of St. George)

The church of San Nicolò l’Arena: the majesty of an unfinished beauty

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

The articulated interior spaces

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

A unifying project for the city of Catania

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

City and nature

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

The art of maiolica

The Church of Madonna della Stella

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Verticality and dynamism of the façade of the Church of San Carlo

The interior of the church: space and colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A casket of precious works

The Staircase of Angels

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

Geometry and wonder in civic architecture in the Baroque of the Val di Noto

The city palace

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

The Church of St. Benedict

St. Agatha and the candelore

The Church of St. Paul

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

The Franciscan convent

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

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

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism