Catania

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

sight
Brightness and light

Colour, light and more colour!
The vault is a riot of colour, capable of making the figures and shapes stand out, and leaving visitors gazing upwards.
As for the altar, it attracts attention thanks to the brilliance and shine of gold, silver and the precious sparkling stones used to decorate it.
The church is a treasure trove of precious jewels.

hearing
A sound to accompany prayer

It’s 1790 and you’re inside the church of St. Benedict, attending one of the services… You can hear something… what is it?
The organ!
With a sound alternating between gentle and low, it accompanies prayer as impressed worshippers celebrate Holy Mass.
Then the bells announce the end of the service.
Their chimes vibrate in the atmosphere and resonate along Via dei Crociferi.

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The disastrous earthquake

A long reconstruction

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The wall comes to life

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A half-Baroque church

Two illustrious patron saints

Feasting in Palazzolo

The theatre of taste

A prominent church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A talking palace

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

Searching for colour

One city, three sites

A feast only for Scicli

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Some masterpieces

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

The church of Carmine

The internal colours

The two churches

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A square as the heart of the city

Between white and black

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A hall for the feasts

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Baroque town by the sea

A new site for a new city

From International Gothic to present day

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Staircase of Angels

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

An eagle-shaped city

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

One city, two sites

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A majestic and luminous church

The Maiolica of the staircase

Discovering the mother church

A colourful floor

The colours of the cathedral

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Many owners, one palace

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

A new site for a new church

The city of museums

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Some prestigious works

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

New roads for Catania

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Wonderful quick decorations

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A small room with a golden entrance

Feast days

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A symbol for the town

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

A miniature city

A city in colour

A triumph of colour

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

A museum to save a tradition

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The interior and its masterpieces

Norman apses

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Burgos crucifix

Prominent façade