Catania

The Staircase of Angels

The entrance to the wonderful church of San Benedetto (St. Benedict) is up the scala degli angeli (staircase of angels).
It was built to solve the problem of connecting the church to the street level, which is 7 metres lower. The staircase is one of the most characteristic examples of Sicilian Baroque. Its uniqueness, and name, is due to the sculptures of angels in marble stucco , a less valuable material than marble. It is no coincidence that this poor material was also used to highlight the church interior.
For the same reason it was left entirely white with a few golden decorations, so that the triumph of colour in the frescoes was even more evident and the contrast even greater.
Everything outside the church had to be made of less valuable materials. In fact, the main altar, the focus of the worshippers’ attention, was made of pure gold and silver.
Worshippers were to have no distractions; they would have had a clear idea of what the centre of their attention should have been: the altar, where religious service took place.

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Some prestigious works

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Some masterpieces

One city, two sites

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A new site for a new church

A majestic and luminous church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The colours of the cathedral

From International Gothic to present day

The internal colours

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

A half-Baroque church

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

A small room with a golden entrance

A hall for the feasts

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Between white and black

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A miniature city

An eagle-shaped city

New roads for Catania

Searching for colour

Many owners, one palace

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Discovering the mother church

The wall comes to life

The church of Carmine

A museum to save a tradition

The Baroque town by the sea

The interior and its masterpieces

The city of museums

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

A long reconstruction

A city in colour

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

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

A talking palace

A new site for a new city

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A feast only for Scicli

One city, three sites

A symbol for the town

A triumph of colour

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The theatre of taste

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Two illustrious patron saints

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Burgos crucifix

Norman apses

Feast days

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The disastrous earthquake

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The two churches

The chocolate of Modica

A prominent church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Wonderful quick decorations

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A colourful floor

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

The Staircase of Angels

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Prominent façade

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano