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

A majestic and luminous church

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A colourful floor

From International Gothic to present day

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

A city in colour

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

New roads for Catania

A long reconstruction

One city, three sites

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

One city, two sites

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Two illustrious patron saints

A hall for the feasts

The theatre of taste

Feast days

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A prominent church

A new site for a new church

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

The interior and its masterpieces

The colours of the cathedral

A new site for a new city

The wall comes to life

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A museum to save a tradition

An eagle-shaped city

A square as the heart of the city

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The Maiolica of the staircase

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Prominent façade

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

A symbol for the town

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Between white and black

Norman apses

Feasting in Palazzolo

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The chocolate of Modica

The church of Carmine

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Discovering the mother church

The Staircase of Angels

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A triumph of colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

A miniature city

A talking palace

A half-Baroque church

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

A small room with a golden entrance

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

The disastrous earthquake

Some prestigious works

A feast only for Scicli

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Searching for colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The two churches

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

Some masterpieces

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

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Wonderful quick decorations

The city of museums

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The internal colours

The Baroque town by the sea