Begun in the
second half of the sixteenth century, the Monastery allowed the Benedectines to settle in Catania. These monks were cadets of
noble families and devoted to a cultured and lustful life.Very famous was
the tradition of their culinary arts and their passion for
music.
Was a city
within a city, with huge places intended for the monks’ life,
the rich archeological museum, the library, the botanic garden
and a science and botanic specialized library .Writers and
travellers like “Goethe” contributed to make this wonder known
all over Europe celebrating also the organ made by Donato Del
Piano.
In 1977, the
university’s faculty of letters took it over, under a renovation
plan by the architect Giancarlo De Carlo. This is a
rectangular and large hall illuminated by oval windows with a
wonderful pavement made by eighteenth-century Neapolitan
majolica. the ornate wooden shelving over two floors dates to
the XVIII century. Another
important hall is dedicated to the catanese poet “Mario
Rapisardi”, where his correspondence is kept.
In the courtyard
that opens to piazza Dante, some archeological excavations have
brought to light precious remains of various epochs.Only two
cloisters were completed. the first is adorned with a small
neogothic kiosk tiled with ceramics; the second has a fine
seventeenth-century marble fountain.
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