Catania

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

sight
Panoramic views to contemplate beauty

The Badia di Sant’Agata (St. Agatha’s Abbey) offers many panoramic viewpoints for contemplating the beauty of the entire historic centre. It’s certainly worth taking the long staircase that leads to the upper terraces and the walkway that surrounds the dome.
From here you can admire the entire city: the Bellini Theatre, the Cathedral, the Ursino Castle, the churches of Via Crociferi and all the artistic marvels that the city of Catania has to offer.
zoom cupola panoramica dalla cupola

smell
The scent of wax

The smell of wax is one of the most characteristic scents within the church and in the streets of Catania during the celebrations of the patron saint.
Votive candles are still produced today in Catania’s artisanal workshops using techniques and raw materials steeped in ancient knowledge.
There were originally two types of candles: those made with beeswax, which were more refined and expensive, and those made with animal fat, which were far cheaper but gave off an unpleasant smell and smoke.

A casket of precious works

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

Verticality and dynamism of the façade of the Church of San Carlo

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

The Badia di Sant’Agata (St. Agatha’s Abbey)

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Palazzo dei due mori

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

City and nature

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

The senses tell the Benedictine Monastery and the Church of San Nicolò l’Arena

St. Agatha and the candelore

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

The works in the church

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

The church and the college

The church of San Nicolò l’Arena: the majesty of an unfinished beauty

One city, three sites

Reconstruction after the earthquake

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

Piazza Duomo, the elephant fountain, the heart of the city

A unifying project for the city of Catania

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

The Franciscan convent

Religious architecture

Barresi-Branciforte: the lords of the fiefdom and the modernisation of the town

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

The senses tell the story of the Sanctuary Church of Santa Maria della Stella

Art in the cathedral

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

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

The interior and works of art

The city within the city

A stone garden

The Staircase of Angels

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

Views denied, views conquered: the power of the devout Benedictines

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

A heritage of votive works

Altars, saints and sculptural works

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

Luminous sacred spaces

The city palace

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

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

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

The Church of St. Benedict

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

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

The casket of austerity under the great dome

The freedom of worship and the Catholic Church’s role in the diffusion of Baroque

The Church of St. Paul

Geometry and wonder in civic architecture in the Baroque of the Val di Noto

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

A story of rebirth

The interior of the church: space and colour

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

The new roads of the city

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

The articulated interior spaces

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Carlo and the former Jesuit college

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

The two churches

The expansion of space and changing reality

The Church of Madonna della Stella

The eagle-shaped city

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

The neo-Gothic seminary chapel: symbols, light and space

The art of maiolica

The Duomo di San Giorgio (Cathedral of St. George)

The Benedictines’ library

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The palace, the town, the church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Church of St. Francis

The church and the monastery