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 senses tell the story of the Badia di Sant’Agata

A majestic and luminous church

The internal colours

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Discovering the mother church

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A half-Baroque church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Between white and black

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Burgos crucifix

The Staircase of Angels

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A new site for a new church

A small room with a golden entrance

The colours of the cathedral

A hall for the feasts

A colourful floor

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

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

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

Many owners, one palace

Two illustrious patron saints

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Baroque town by the sea

A new site for a new city

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Feasting in Palazzolo

Wonderful quick decorations

A miniature city

The theatre of taste

The chocolate of Modica

One city, three sites

A feast only for Scicli

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A talking palace

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A triumph of colour

A long reconstruction

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Searching for colour

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Prominent façade

Feast days

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Norman apses

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The two churches

A prominent church

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

A symbol for the town

A square as the heart of the city

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

The interior and its masterpieces

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Some prestigious works

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

The church of Carmine

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

An eagle-shaped city

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

New roads for Catania

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A museum to save a tradition

The city of museums

One city, two sites

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The wall comes to life