Catania

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

One of the most evocative rooms of the monastery is the kitchen.
foto cucina della portaLike the refectory, antirefectory, library and museum, the space dedicated to preparing food was designed by Giovan Battista Vaccarini and its construction began in 1739.
foto cucina dei benedettiniThe architect had to take into account the rules of monastic architecture, which meant separating the kitchen from the other rooms. This way, if there was a fire, it would not spread to the other rooms.
Similarly, the passageways leading to the refectory as well as being narrow were equipped with multiple barriers.
The kitchen underwent various changes over the years, but the structure has remained the same with the hearths in the centre, a huge brazier placed in an octagonal “chamber”.
The maiolica decorations that enrich the structure create splendid orange and blue squares with a white background of abstract motifs. The floor is just as surprising. Also made with colourful maiolica tiles, it extends across the whole room. However, the floor is not simple or uniform; it is divided into eight parts with two different alternating decorations.
The first is a white floor with fine blue, black and yellow geometric decorations that cover the smaller portions; the other is larger and more colourful, where yellow and green dominate the blue, orange and white decoration. foto Dettaglio maioliche

The city of museums

The disastrous earthquake

A new site for a new church

The Baroque town by the sea

A prominent church

The two churches

An eagle-shaped city

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Feast days

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

Norman apses

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

One city, three sites

A triumph of colour

The theatre of taste

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A long reconstruction

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A majestic and luminous church

A square as the heart of the city

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Feasting in Palazzolo

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A museum to save a tradition

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Discovering the mother church

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

A symbol for the town

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

Many owners, one palace

A talking palace

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Burgos crucifix

A half-Baroque church

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

One city, two sites

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A miniature city

The interior and its masterpieces

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

From International Gothic to present day

The Staircase of Angels

The internal colours

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The church of Carmine

Between white and black

New roads for Catania

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Searching for colour

The chocolate of Modica

A new site for a new city

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A feast only for Scicli

Some prestigious works

A small room with a golden entrance

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

Prominent façade

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Two illustrious patron saints

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The wall comes to life

Some masterpieces

The colours of the cathedral

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Wonderful quick decorations

A colourful floor

A hall for the feasts

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?