Catania

The colours of the cathedral

The contrast of colours offered by the cathedral’s façade is the result of specific choices by its architect Giovanni Battista Vaccarini .

The cathedral of Sant'Agata
The cathedral of Sant’Agata overlooks the wide Piazza Duomo from which it is physically divided by a balustrade. After passing there is a churchyard to cross before you can access the interior of the basilica. The exterior has a facade that is divided into three floors: in the lower part are placed the main portal and the two sides, surmounted by large oval windows; in the center of the second floor there is a niche with the statue of Saint Agatha and the angels; closes the third and last floor closed by a triangular tympanum. For the facade the materials chosen were white limestone and gray lava stone. Together they create on the facade a geometric game where white often creates a frame around the black. In other cases the white highlights some architectural elements such as the capital or the base of the columns.

Grey lava stone and white marble were used, which, by alternating their use, bestow liveliness upon the façade. The façade is split into three levels: in the lowest part there are the main portal and two lateral portals, each surmounted by large oval windows; on the second level, in a niche , on a blue background with red beams, there is a white statue of St. Agatha and the angels; finally, a triangular tympanum completes the third level.
Cattedrale di Sant'Agata : foto prospetto ravvicinata Statua di Sant'Agata nella nicchia
Colour also features inside the church. At the entrance, two pairs of red columns welcome visitors and a marble floor in various colours (red, green, yellow and white) leads worshippers to the altar.foto dall'ingresso verso l'altare, comprese coppie di colonneThe church has a Latin cross plan and is divided into three naves by large limestone pillars with a grey lava stone base. This adds brightness to the whole room, which is amplified by light coming in through the windows of the nave.
At the end of the church you can admire the decorations on the main apse by painter Giovanni Battista Corradini, who painted the Trionfo di Sant’Agata (Triumph of St. Agatha).

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Maiolica of the staircase

A museum to save a tradition

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Two illustrious patron saints

Discovering the mother church

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The chocolate of Modica

The interior and its masterpieces

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A prominent church

The theatre of taste

A talking palace

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

The disastrous earthquake

The church of Carmine

A triumph of colour

A city in colour

The internal colours

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

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A new site for a new city

Feast days

A colourful floor

One city, two sites

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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A symbol for the town

Some prestigious works

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

An eagle-shaped city

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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Many owners, one palace

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

Norman apses

The two churches

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Searching for colour

The wall comes to life

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The colours of the cathedral

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Some masterpieces

The Staircase of Angels

Between white and black

From International Gothic to present day

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

A feast only for Scicli

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Baroque town by the sea

A hall for the feasts

Prominent façade

A miniature city

The city of museums

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Burgos crucifix

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A small room with a golden entrance

A half-Baroque church

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A square as the heart of the city

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A long reconstruction

A majestic and luminous church

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The façade used as a puppet theatre

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

One city, three sites

New roads for Catania