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.

The city within the city

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

The city palace

The expansion of space and changing reality

St. Agatha and the candelore

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

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

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

The Church of St. Benedict

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

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

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

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

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

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

The two churches

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

The Church of St. Paul

The church and the monastery

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

A heritage of votive works

The works in the church

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

The interior of the church: space and colour

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

A casket of precious works

The Church of St. Francis

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

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

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

Altars, saints and sculptural works

Art in the cathedral

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Palazzo dei due mori

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

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

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

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

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

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

The church and the college

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

The casket of austerity under the great dome

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

Religious architecture

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

The art of maiolica

A unifying project for the city of Catania

Reconstruction after the earthquake

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

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

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

The eagle-shaped city

The Franciscan convent

The Benedictines’ library

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

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

A story of rebirth

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

Luminous sacred spaces

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

City and nature

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

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

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

One city, three sites

A stone garden

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

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

The interior and works of art

The articulated interior spaces

The Church of Madonna della Stella

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The new roads of the city

The palace, the town, the church

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

The Staircase of Angels