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.

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

One city, three sites

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Staircase of Angels

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The chocolate of Modica

A symbol for the town

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Some prestigious works

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The interior and its masterpieces

Feast days

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Baroque town by the sea

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

Between white and black

From International Gothic to present day

A half-Baroque church

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

A new site for a new church

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A long reconstruction

The disastrous earthquake

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Searching for colour

The theatre of taste

A city in colour

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A triumph of colour

A hall for the feasts

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Many owners, one palace

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A majestic and luminous church

A small room with a golden entrance

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A talking palace

Wonderful quick decorations

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A new site for a new city

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The church of Carmine

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The wall comes to life

A feast only for Scicli

Norman apses

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

The two churches

The façade used as a puppet theatre

An eagle-shaped city

The internal colours

The city of museums

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Two illustrious patron saints

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

One city, two sites

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A prominent church

Prominent façade

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

A miniature city

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

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

Discovering the mother church

A colourful floor

The colours of the cathedral

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo