Catania

The interior and its masterpieces

Once inside the church your eye is driven upwards, attracted by the majestic dome decorated in 1842 by Catanese painter Giuseppe Rapisardi. The fresco depicts St. Beryl, the city’s third patron saint , as St. Peter gives him the task of founding the Catanese church.
If you lower your gaze you will then see the gigantic windows, which fill the interior with light, followed by the round-bottomed grilles that allowed the nuns to attend celebrations in the church, and finally the four chapels with the altars.
The first and second of the four altars feature two of the oldest artworks, probably transferred from the old convent: a 14th-century panel depicting a Crucifixion and a painting with St. Anthony the Abbot by Pietro Abadessa from 1643. On the third altar, the first to the right of the entrance, is the painting by Olivio Sozzi from Catania. On the other side there is a sculptural group that represents the Crucifixion, with: Our Lady of Sorrows, John and Mary Magdalene.
Last but not least, we come to the main altar .
The uniqueness of this altar lies in its veritable status as architecture and not mere sculpture. It was created by the sculptor Giovambattista Marino based on a design attributed to Vaccarini .

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A new site for a new city

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Norman apses

A prominent church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The disastrous earthquake

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

Wonderful quick decorations

A half-Baroque church

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

Some masterpieces

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Discovering the mother church

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

One city, three sites

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Maiolica of the staircase

A hall for the feasts

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The two churches

Two illustrious patron saints

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

A small room with a golden entrance

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A miniature city

The chocolate of Modica

The theatre of taste

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Some prestigious works

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A colourful floor

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The interior and its masterpieces

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Baroque town by the sea

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A majestic and luminous church

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The city of museums

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A triumph of colour

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

A long reconstruction

The wall comes to life

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Between white and black

A city in colour

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

The internal colours

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

The colours of the cathedral

One city, two sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Feast days

Searching for colour

A talking palace

Prominent façade

A new site for a new church

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Many owners, one palace

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

From International Gothic to present day

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The church of Carmine

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Burgos crucifix

An eagle-shaped city

A museum to save a tradition

A feast only for Scicli

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A square as the heart of the city

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A symbol for the town

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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