The Monastery of San Nicolò l'Arena in

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, is a former

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery located at Piazza Dante 30. Together with the Palace of Mafra, it ranks among the largest Benedictine monasteries in Europe. Now part of the late Baroque ensemble of the Val di Noto, it houses the Department of Humanities of the

University of Catania The University of Catania () is a university located in Catania, Sicily. Founded in 1434, it is the oldest university in Sicily, the 13th oldest in Italy, and the 29th oldest in the world. With over 38,000 enrolled students, it is the largest uni ...

History and description

The monastery was founded in 1558. Dedicated to San Nicola di Bari, the suffix of Arena (sand) derived from the volcanic sand present in the area. The monastery complex is located in the historical centre of the city of

, alongside the church of San Nicolò l'Arena. The structure integrates architectural styles from various centuries. Although founded in the 16th century, two natural disasters in the 17th century required major reconstruction. The

1669 Etna eruption The 1669 eruption of Mount Etna is the largest-recorded historical eruption of Mount Etna, the volcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy. After several weeks of increasing seismic activity that damaged the town of Nicolosi and other settleme ...

surrounded the city of Catania with lava, widening the coast for more than 1 km, and the lands of the monastery too. While the monastery was not destroyed by the lava, the surrounding acquired a level of lava stone 12 meters high. The

1693 Sicily earthquake The 1693 Sicily earthquake was a natural disaster that struck parts of southern Italy near Sicily, then a territory part of the Crown of Aragon by the Kings of Spain Calabria and Malta, on 11 January at around 21:00 local time. This earthquake was ...

, also called the Val di Noto earthquake, and the following tsunami ravaged the entire east coast of Sicily and Catania. Like nearly the entire city, the monastery was nearly razed and only the basement floors survived. In 1702 the rebuilding started and lasted until 1866 (when the new Reign of Italy confiscated the monastery). The present monastery was rebuilt atop the original structure, with an added new cloister (the eastern cloister) and a new area (the large part designed by Giovanni Battista Vaccarini) on the top of the lava bench. In 1977 the monastery was donated to the

, which restored the entire structure; in 1984 Giancarlo De Carlo started to design the entire restoration work.

Gallery

File:Fontana del chiostro di ponente.jpg, The Marble Cloister, reflecting the original square plan of the monastery founded in 1558. File:Etna eruzione 1669 platania con evidenziato il monastero di San Nicola l'Arena.jpg, Fresco by Giacinto Platania depicting the 1669 eruption of Mount Etna, with Catania and the monastery surrounded by lava. File:Sala rossa.jpg, "Red Hall" - Antonino Leonardi

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monastery of San Nicolo l'Arena Monasteries in Sicily Buildings and structures in Catania World Heritage Sites in Italy