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 theatre of taste

Some prestigious works

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The colours of the cathedral

A long reconstruction

One city, three sites

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The internal colours

A triumph of colour

Feast days

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The city of museums

Norman apses

Between white and black

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

A square as the heart of the city

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Maiolica of the staircase

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

A colourful floor

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A miniature city

The Burgos crucifix

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A hall for the feasts

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Two illustrious patron saints

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The interior and its masterpieces

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

New roads for Catania

The two churches

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A small room with a golden entrance

A city in colour

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A half-Baroque church

Some masterpieces

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A symbol for the town

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

A museum to save a tradition

From International Gothic to present day

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A prominent church

A talking palace

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Prominent façade

A new site for a new church

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The disastrous earthquake

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A majestic and luminous church

Discovering the mother church

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

The church of Carmine

The Baroque town by the sea

Searching for colour

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

A new site for a new city

Many owners, one palace

Wonderful quick decorations

An eagle-shaped city

One city, two sites

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The Staircase of Angels

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras