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

Feast days

The theatre of taste

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Many owners, one palace

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

One city, two sites

A museum to save a tradition

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A miniature city

A symbol for the town

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The wall comes to life

The Baroque town by the sea

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A half-Baroque church

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A feast only for Scicli

A colourful floor

The interior and its masterpieces

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Between white and black

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

A square as the heart of the city

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A new site for a new church

The internal colours

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

One city, three sites

A new site for a new city

From International Gothic to present day

The façade used as a puppet theatre

An eagle-shaped city

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A prominent church

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The colours of the cathedral

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The church of Carmine

The city of museums

Feasting in Palazzolo

The two churches

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Prominent façade

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Norman apses

The chocolate of Modica

A city in colour

A talking palace

Wonderful quick decorations

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A triumph of colour

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

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

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A long reconstruction

Searching for colour

The disastrous earthquake

A small room with a golden entrance

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

Some masterpieces

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Burgos crucifix

Some prestigious works

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra