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

A talking palace

Prominent façade

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A majestic and luminous church

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A new site for a new church

The Staircase of Angels

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Searching for colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The church of Carmine

A symbol for the town

The interior and its masterpieces

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A city in colour

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The wall comes to life

Feast days

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Norman apses

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

A triumph of colour

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The chocolate of Modica

Some masterpieces

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

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

Between white and black

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

From International Gothic to present day

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

One city, three sites

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

The theatre of taste

The disastrous earthquake

Wonderful quick decorations

A long reconstruction

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A square as the heart of the city

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

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A hall for the feasts

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

Some prestigious works

One city, two sites

Many owners, one palace

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Discovering the mother church

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A half-Baroque church

New roads for Catania

A prominent church

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Baroque town by the sea

A miniature city

Two illustrious patron saints

The Maiolica of the staircase

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

The city of museums

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A small room with a golden entrance

The two churches

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A new site for a new city

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

The Burgos crucifix

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The colours of the cathedral

A colourful floor

The internal colours

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A museum to save a tradition