Caltagirone

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

hearing
Listening was important

With a little imagination you can return to 1800 when the church was still used by the nuns and you could listen to the liturgical celebrations.
Worshippers and the nuns attended mass. But there was a problem!
The nuns could not be seen by anyone because they lived in seclusion.
So how did they attend mass? Galleries, like a sort of box seat, were built with louvre blinds (grilles), behind which they could watch the celebrations without being seen.

touch
Touch to discover

Touching objects is one of our instincts and gives us an immediate connection to what is in front of us.
Touching the façade of Santa Chiara (St. Claire) would help us understand the material’s hardness, the stone’s temperature and the porosity of the surface (smooth or rough), giving us a great deal of information in a very short time.
When comparing this information with other objects, we uncover the differences between one material and another.
The maiolica tiles on the floor of Santa Chiara are colder and much smoother to the touch than the façade. The wood of the galleries, on the other hand, is warmer than the sandstone façade and the maiolica floor and balustrade.

sight
Antependium

The alter area hides a masterpiece: the antependium.
Situated in the front part of the altar, the artists took inspiration from Renaissance architecture for the decoration.
The result was a splendid scenographic effect, amplified by the use of mirrors and embellished with materials such as amber and wood covered with silver sheets, then worked to imitate gold.
The light that hits it creates wonderful reflections that illuminate the room. foto edificio a specchi

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The disastrous earthquake

A half-Baroque church

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Prominent façade

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The interior and its masterpieces

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

The Baroque town by the sea

The wall comes to life

Some prestigious works

A symbol for the town

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

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

A city in colour

The church of Carmine

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The internal colours

Feast days

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A new site for a new church

Many owners, one palace

A colourful floor

Norman apses

Some masterpieces

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The chocolate of Modica

A triumph of colour

The two churches

The theatre of taste

A majestic and luminous church

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

An eagle-shaped city

Limestone, the colour of harmony

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A prominent church

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Two illustrious patron saints

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Searching for colour

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A feast only for Scicli

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Connections with other UNESCO sites

One city, two sites

A talking palace

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Discovering the mother church

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

One city, three sites

Modica, a city with ancient origins

New roads for Catania

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A small room with a golden entrance

A museum to save a tradition

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

From International Gothic to present day

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Between white and black

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A long reconstruction

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

The city of museums

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A hall for the feasts

The Burgos crucifix

A new site for a new city

Wonderful quick decorations

A miniature city

A square as the heart of the city

The colours of the cathedral

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers