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

Feasting in Palazzolo

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A triumph of colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Discovering the mother church

The disastrous earthquake

Feast days

A feast only for Scicli

A museum to save a tradition

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Norman apses

The internal colours

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

The wall comes to life

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

An eagle-shaped city

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

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A small room with a golden entrance

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A colourful floor

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A majestic and luminous church

The theatre of taste

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The chocolate of Modica

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The two churches

One city, two sites

The Burgos crucifix

Prominent façade

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

The colours of the cathedral

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Baroque town by the sea

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

One city, three sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A prominent church

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

From International Gothic to present day

The interior and its masterpieces

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A symbol for the town

A miniature city

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Two illustrious patron saints

A half-Baroque church

The city of museums

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A new site for a new church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A long reconstruction

The church of Carmine

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Some prestigious works

A new site for a new city

Searching for colour

A hall for the feasts

Many owners, one palace

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

Some masterpieces

A talking palace

Between white and black

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A square as the heart of the city

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

New roads for Catania

A city in colour