Catania

The city within the city

The Benedictine monastery of Catania, with its long stratigraphic history, is also known as “the city within the city”.
Its large size and the events that have taken place within it over the centuries elevate it to the status of a small city, bordered by large walls, which has always interacted with the surrounding fabric in a relationship of cultural exchange. In the 1970s, it became the seat of the Faculty of Literature, Language and Philosophy of the University of Catania. What does the monastery look like today?
cortileToday it is accessed from the surrounding wall through a majestic portal that leads to the large courtyard surrounding the Abbey, passing the main staircase with its ninety-five steps in Carrara marble.
A remarkable work of architecture, a white scenic staircase punctuated by sinuous balustrades, with the surrounding walls totally frescoed and stuccoed, which, however, maintain an austere aura thanks to the elegant two-toned effect. This neoclassical vestibule leads to the corridors and the monks’ cells. The corridors also lead to the two cloisters.
The first cloister, in the east, is surrounded by a splendid portico in white Syracuse stone raised on a dark base and embellished in the centre by the Caffeaos .
The second cloister was rebuilt after the earthquake of 1693, and is characterised by a strong two-tone colour scheme: there are just over 50 white marble columns and arcades located on the lower floor, and large windows decorated with white frames emerge from the dark plaster wall. In the centre, the majestic marble quatrefoil fountain provides a focal point for the space.
scalone da pianerottolo volte piano superiore

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San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

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Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

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Art in the cathedral

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The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

The city within the city

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

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Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

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

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

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Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

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The articulated interior spaces

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

The Benedictines’ library

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

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

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The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

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The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

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The Church of Madonna della Stella

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

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The Staircase of Angels

The church and the monastery

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

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The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

Reconstruction after the earthquake

Altars, saints and sculptural works

The Palazzo dei due mori

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

City and nature

The palace, the town, the church

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

The expansion of space and changing reality

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Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

A stone garden

The Franciscan convent

A story of rebirth

The two churches

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

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

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

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

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

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