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).

Between white and black

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The city of museums

A new site for a new church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

An eagle-shaped city

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

A long reconstruction

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The church of Carmine

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Discovering the mother church

From International Gothic to present day

The chocolate of Modica

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Norman apses

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A small room with a golden entrance

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Wonderful quick decorations

A square as the heart of the city

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A new site for a new city

Prominent façade

New roads for Catania

A museum to save a tradition

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A prominent church

Some prestigious works

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A colourful floor

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

A feast only for Scicli

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

A miniature city

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

One city, two sites

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A hall for the feasts

Feast days

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

One city, three sites

The two churches

The Staircase of Angels

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

Searching for colour

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A triumph of colour

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

Some masterpieces

The Burgos crucifix

Many owners, one palace

A talking palace

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

The theatre of taste

The interior and its masterpieces

A symbol for the town

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A majestic and luminous church

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The internal colours

The colours of the cathedral

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A half-Baroque church

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

Two illustrious patron saints

The Baroque town by the sea

A city in colour

The wall comes to life

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century