Catania

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Located on the hill of Montevergine is one of the city’s largest complexes and the second largest monastic complex in Europe.
Benedictine monastery of Catania has a very long history marked by the passage of time (one testimony includes the remains of a Roman domus, or house), civilisations and natural disasters which have made it one of the most resistant and richest cultural sites on the entire island.
Founded by the monks of Cassino in the 16th century, when the west cloister was constructed, with the large Carrara marble fountain completed in 1608, most of the rooms were used for monastery life: the kitchens, the basement cellars, the monks’ cells over two floors, the refectory and the parlour. foto d'insiemeDuring the eruption of 1669 the monastery was hit by magma that surrounded the building: it burst through the walls and reached the first-storey windows.
Traces of the exceptional lava flow are still visible along the retaining walls, which were built specially to divert it. In 1693 the monastery was hit by the great earthquake and suffered serious damage.
The new design involved the construction of four large courtyards that would make it the largest in the world, but only two were completed: the cloister with the fountain and one in the east where the caffeaos (coffee house) was placed.

foto caffeaos foto Coffeaos da dentro la struttura
The structure was reminiscent of a gazebo, made with white stone featuring an interesting decoration in colourful maiolica with an abstract design.

Some prestigious works

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

The chocolate of Modica

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

An eagle-shaped city

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The two churches

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The wall comes to life

A majestic and luminous church

Between white and black

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Staircase of Angels

A small room with a golden entrance

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

A city in colour

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The city of museums

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

One city, two sites

From International Gothic to present day

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The theatre of taste

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Baroque town by the sea

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Prominent façade

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A new site for a new city

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Many owners, one palace

Some masterpieces

One city, three sites

The church of Carmine

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A square as the heart of the city

A prominent church

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

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

Discovering the mother church

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A triumph of colour

A feast only for Scicli

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

A colourful floor

The internal colours

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Burgos crucifix

The colours of the cathedral

A half-Baroque church

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A talking palace

New roads for Catania

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A hall for the feasts

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A museum to save a tradition

A miniature city

A long reconstruction

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

Feast days

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A symbol for the town

Norman apses

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The interior and its masterpieces

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A new site for a new church

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Searching for colour

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family