Description
Via dei Crociferi is Catania's most theatrical Baroque street: about 400 meters running north, lined almost entirely with 18th-century churches, convents and palaces, with only a few houses. You enter from Piazza San Francesco d'Assisi by passing under an arch, and what follows is Baroque all of a piece.
The Arch of San Benedetto, from 1704, spans the street and links the Badia Grande to the Badia Piccola, the two buildings of the Benedictine monastery. Tradition has it that it was built in a single night, to force the city senate to accept the union of the monastery.
Right after it, on the west side, the church of San Benedetto opens with the marble Staircase of the Angel, crowded with statues of angels and closed by a wrought-iron gate. Inside, the vault is entirely frescoed by Giovanni Tuccari with stories of the saint.
Farther along, on the same side, the Jesuits' church of San Francesco Borgia rises above a double staircase. Inside, the dome frescoed by Olivio Sozzi shows in its corners the four continents where the Society of Jesus carried the Gospel: Europe, Asia, Africa and America.
Next comes the Jesuit College, the former home of the Art Institute, with a lovely cloister of arcades on columns. Opposite stands the church of San Giuliano, with its convex facade and simple lines, considered one of the finest examples of Catania's Baroque.
San Giuliano is worth a longer stop: its dome, also open to visitors, is the second highest in the city after that of the Benedictine monastery. The 18th-century floor is a pattern of colored marbles.
Past the crossing with Via Antonino di Sangiuliano come the Crociferi convent and the church of San Camillo. At the far end, the street closes with Villa Cerami, the residence of the Rosso di Cerami princes, now home to the university's Law department.
In 1881 the princes hosted King Umberto I and Queen Margherita at the villa. For the ball in their honor the old chapel was turned into a ballroom, and an Assumption frescoed on the vault ended up covered by a copy of Guido Reni's Aurora, better suited to an evening of dancing.
The Arch of San Benedetto, from 1704, spans the street and links the Badia Grande to the Badia Piccola, the two buildings of the Benedictine monastery. Tradition has it that it was built in a single night, to force the city senate to accept the union of the monastery.
Right after it, on the west side, the church of San Benedetto opens with the marble Staircase of the Angel, crowded with statues of angels and closed by a wrought-iron gate. Inside, the vault is entirely frescoed by Giovanni Tuccari with stories of the saint.
Farther along, on the same side, the Jesuits' church of San Francesco Borgia rises above a double staircase. Inside, the dome frescoed by Olivio Sozzi shows in its corners the four continents where the Society of Jesus carried the Gospel: Europe, Asia, Africa and America.
Next comes the Jesuit College, the former home of the Art Institute, with a lovely cloister of arcades on columns. Opposite stands the church of San Giuliano, with its convex facade and simple lines, considered one of the finest examples of Catania's Baroque.
San Giuliano is worth a longer stop: its dome, also open to visitors, is the second highest in the city after that of the Benedictine monastery. The 18th-century floor is a pattern of colored marbles.
Past the crossing with Via Antonino di Sangiuliano come the Crociferi convent and the church of San Camillo. At the far end, the street closes with Villa Cerami, the residence of the Rosso di Cerami princes, now home to the university's Law department.
In 1881 the princes hosted King Umberto I and Queen Margherita at the villa. For the ball in their honor the old chapel was turned into a ballroom, and an Assumption frescoed on the vault ended up covered by a copy of Guido Reni's Aurora, better suited to an evening of dancing.