Catania

The internal colours

The church has a Greek cross plan. As you enter, you move from a small room to a large circular space where white is used extensively and gives the room an almost blinding brightness.
The gleam of white is joined by the yellow Castronovo marble altars, located in four large niches , where four wonderful statues stand.
foto ingresso verso altare maggioreThese were created by Giovanni Battista Marino in marble stucco . As per traditional Baroque sculpture, the clothing of the four characters moves and seems caught in a continuous breeze.
The statues depict St. Euplius, St. Benedict, St. Joseph and the Child, and the Immaculate Conception. Ignazio Carnazza’s work, the Crocefissione (Crucifixion), is another clear example of Baroque art.
altare minore 2 altare minore 1
In fact, the use of colour is a typical element from the period.
The wooden crucifix rests on a yellow marble background from which a red marble cloth descends. Though made of a hard material, the cloth seems soft. Red was not chosen by chance; the first stone given by God to humans to build the new Jerusalem was in fact red.
The work was commissioned by the abbess Giuseppa Maria Scammacca. The flooring completes the interior. The splendid floor was created by Ignazio Marino’s workshop using one of his designs. Black and white marble covers the entire surface with an abstract design that points towards the centre of the church.
crocifisso carnazza

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Many owners, one palace

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A half-Baroque church

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A miniature city

One city, two sites

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Between white and black

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Some masterpieces

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Burgos crucifix

The internal colours

A prominent church

Discovering the mother church

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A symbol for the town

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The wall comes to life

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

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A small room with a golden entrance

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

A hall for the feasts

A talking palace

A majestic and luminous church

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The theatre of taste

The city of museums

The Maiolica of the staircase

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

Wonderful quick decorations

An eagle-shaped city

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

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

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

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A feast only for Scicli

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A long reconstruction

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Norman apses

One city, three sites

Feasting in Palazzolo

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Two illustrious patron saints

The two churches

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A triumph of colour

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The Staircase of Angels

A new site for a new church

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Connections with other UNESCO sites

New roads for Catania

Feast days

Prominent façade

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A city in colour

The disastrous earthquake

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The colours of the cathedral

Searching for colour

From International Gothic to present day

Some prestigious works

The Baroque town by the sea

A colourful floor

A museum to save a tradition

The church of Carmine