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).

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

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A talking palace

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Two illustrious patron saints

The two churches

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A small room with a golden entrance

One city, two sites

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

The colours of the cathedral

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The internal colours

The city of museums

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A hall for the feasts

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The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A museum to save a tradition

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The disastrous earthquake

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

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The Burgos crucifix

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The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Maiolica of the staircase

From International Gothic to present day

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A prominent church

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Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

Some masterpieces

Feasting in Palazzolo

The interior and its masterpieces

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

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Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The church of Carmine

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The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

The chocolate of Modica

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A new site for a new church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Norman apses

A miniature city

Prominent façade

Wonderful quick decorations

Limestone, the colour of harmony