Catania

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

sight
What a view!

If we climbed the steps leading to the terrace above the abbey of St. Agatha, perhaps we would be a little tired or out of breath, but there would be a splendid landscape before us.
The entire city can be seen from here: the Bellini Theatre, the Cathedral, the Ursino Castle, the churches on Via Crociferi and the great Benedictine monastery.
The cloistered nuns (who never left the monastery) used this terrace to participate in city life and attend processions without being seen.

smell
The scent of church candles

The smell of wax is one of the most characteristic scents inside a church and in the streets of Catania during the patron saint’s celebrations.
Votive candles are still produced today in Catania’s artisanal workshops using techniques and raw materials steeped in ancient knowledge.
There were originally two types of candles: those made with beeswax, which were more refined and expensive, and those made with animal fat, which were far cheaper but gave off an unpleasant smell and smoke.

Discovering the mother church

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

One city, two sites

A half-Baroque church

New roads for Catania

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

Wonderful quick decorations

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

The disastrous earthquake

The interior and its masterpieces

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Prominent façade

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The wall comes to life

A museum to save a tradition

The Maiolica of the staircase

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Norman apses

The chocolate of Modica

A hall for the feasts

The theatre of taste

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A new site for a new church

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Two illustrious patron saints

The colours of the cathedral

Feasting in Palazzolo

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A prominent church

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

A long reconstruction

One city, three sites

Some prestigious works

A talking palace

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A small room with a golden entrance

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

An eagle-shaped city

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The two churches

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

The internal colours

A symbol for the town

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The church of Carmine

The city of museums

A triumph of colour

A feast only for Scicli

The Staircase of Angels

Searching for colour

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

A square as the heart of the city

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Baroque town by the sea

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A colourful floor

Feast days

Many owners, one palace

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Between white and black

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

A majestic and luminous church

A city in colour

A miniature city