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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Modica, a city with ancient origins

Feast days

The colours of the cathedral

Discovering the mother church

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

The two churches

A symbol for the town

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The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Wonderful quick decorations

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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The Burgos crucifix

A colourful floor

Some prestigious works

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The Baroque town by the sea

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Some masterpieces

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Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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The internal colours

Prominent façade

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A long reconstruction

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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The disastrous earthquake

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A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The theatre of taste

New roads for Catania

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A square as the heart of the city

A museum to save a tradition

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The chocolate of Modica

A miniature city

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

Two illustrious patron saints

The Maiolica of the staircase

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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An eagle-shaped city

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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A talking palace

St. Sebastian, so much work!