Transcript Welcome to my school!

THIS IS MY SCHOOL
Comprehensive Institute “ FABRIZIO DE
ANDRE’ “ Aci Sant’Antonio
 Our school develops itself on three
levels:
 Infant school (which includes 3 to 5
years old pupils)
 Primary school (which includes 6 to
9/10 years old pupils)
 First degree secondary school
(which includes 11 to 13/14 years
old pupils)
 Infant school, primary school and
two first degree secondary school
classes are located in the principal
seat in Aci Sant’Antonio.
WELCOME!
Most of first degree secondary school classes
are located in S. Maria la Stella.
My school is located in
Santa Maria La Stella
 Santa Maria la Stella is a
small village nearby
Catania, it is a quiet
village on a hill, where
we all know each other.
 My school is not very
large too, but the
environment is very nice
and comfortable…
here we do many activities:
'Recycling' laboratories of used
materials…
…artistic creations and ceramics
….remedial cours
We have a language lab ...
and a computer lab, too
But ... the best thing is "recreation" we take all TOGETHER
in our “great courtyard”
A few minutes from Santa Maria la Stella is located
Acireale, a pretty town near the sea.
Acireale is a city full of ancient legends and famous for
its Carnival
Aci and Galatea
The Carnival
The Cathedral
 It has an elegant historic centre
and a buzzing local life. The
splendid Duomo Square is a
beautiful Baroque gathering spot
flanked by inspiring architecture.
Acireale is home to the oldest art
academy in Sicily.
Basilica of Saint Sebastian
 Not very far from the Cathedral,
the Basilica of Saint Sebastian rises,
the building dates from the second
half of the XVII century
and is dedicated to the second
patron saint of the town .
The baroque façade is spectacular and has characteristics that are also found in
many of the churches of the Val di Noto.
Noto, in the province of Syracuse, in the south-eastern part of Sicily, is
one of the "baroque jewels" in the island. Thanks to the magnificent
architectural details of its churches and nobiliary buildings, the
town belongs to the world culture heritage list of Unesco. The town is
also known as "stone garden”
 Noto was rebuilt from
the year 1693, after a
tremendous
hearthquake which
had destroyed the
ancient medieval
town (the few ruins
are nowadays visible
in Noto antica, an
archaeological area
located at about 10
Km from Noto). For
this reason, the town
center was built in an
uniform baroque style
SS. Salvatore monastery in Noto
.
Cathedral of Noto

Walking along the main street
you will encounter an
impressing sequence of
sumptuous religious buildings:
the San Francesco
all'Immacolata church,
the Santissimo Salvatore
monastery, the Santa Chiara
church.
 In the main square it's
possible to visit the
imponent cathedral of San
Nicolò” and it's also
possible to visit Palazzo
Ducezio, the town hall and
to admire the archbishop's
palace and palazzo
Landolina.
Santa Chiara church.
palazzo Landolina
Palazzo Ducezio
 Going on the main street,
you will see the baroque
San Carlo Borromeo
church and in front of
it, via Nicolaci. This street
is famous for palazzo
Nicolaci, a nobiliary
building with wonderful
baroque balconies. Via
Nicolaci is also famous for
the yearly "Infiorata flower
festival", which is
organised in May and
attracts thousand of
tourists .
palazzo Nicolaci
Infiorata
 The "corso" ends
with the
elegant fontana
d'Ercole (fountain of
Hercules), the
baroque San
Domenico church
and the neoclassic
theater.
fountain of Hercules
CATANIA: Palazzo Biscari
 Ignatius Paternò Castello,
the fifth prince of Biscari,
realized his dream of
preserving his imperial
baroque residence
founded on the fifteenth
century city walls of the
city of Catania. Palazzo
Biscari is kept as the most
beautiful and well kept
palace in Catania, just as
Prince Ignatius dreamed, a
treasure to be enjoyed by
all.
 It was constructed after the 1693 earthquake on its
fifteenth century foundations built by Charles V
and spared by the earthquake. The initial phase of
construction was commissioned by Vicenzo
Paterno' Castello, IV prince of Biscari, and
concluded by Ignatius Paterno' Castello, V prince
Biscari. Thanks to the latter, the palace acquired
fame as a cultural center. When in 1758 the prince
inaugurated a museum that displayed his precious
archaeological collections, the Biscari Palace
became a necessary meeting place for erudites.
 The Biscari palace is composed by seven
hundred rooms, it is located in the old
quarter of Catania behind the popular down
town area, overlooking the port on the
famous marina arches. Up until the 20's, the
sea water reached the precipitous bastions
and from the nearby Villa Pacini , called Villa
'e varagghi or villa of sighs by the
townspeople since in the past only retirees
enjoyed its beaches, people used to take
the steamer for the beaches of the Plaja.
 Eventually, the water's
edge retired and after
a second intervention
the water moved far
away from the palace,
becoming the elegant
and desired sentinel of
Catania.
 For centuries
travellers, even before
entering the Saracena
door of Via Etnea had
to pass by the elegant
dock enriched with
limestone, the costly
white stone of
Siracusa, contrasted
by the basalt black of
the Etna.
 . From his terrace on the marina, Ignatius
the Grand could view and admire his
splendid property.
The heart of the palace is formed by its
halls, conscientiously restored after the
1991 earthquake and thanks to the personal
interest of the descendants of Prince
Biscari, capable of holding conventions and
receptions reflecting Ignatiu's desire to open
the palace to society.
 The paintings and frescoes
are also restored to their
original status.
To the left of the main
courtyard, there are
private apartments where
eleven members of the
family reside, The usability
of the palace is therefore
in the major courtyard, in
the numerous rooms, in
the ball room and in the
terrace over the port of
Catania
 A very big double rampart stairway made in
basalt from Etna seals the major courtyard
which is at the base of the palace; the
entrance is a solemn space adorned with
seventeenth century paintings of the Biscari
State, with its extended vines and the
extensive production of silkworm
 The central hall, or party
room, is composed by a
sumptuous rococo' internal
piazza adorned with
decorations, paintings and
portraits of members of the
family placed on three
levels. On the first level
one can admire the
members of the prince's
family, the second is
decorated with minor
divinities and finally the
third, on the cupola of the
loggia of the musicians,
Vulcan celebrates the
triumph of the Paterno'
Castello family. Here,
musicians climbed the
stairway resembling a
"cloud flake" as the prince
himself defined it, an
architectural treasure
whose structural brilliance
remains a mystery that
cannot be explained.
 In a room between the
main hall and the
windows there is a
staircase that raises
and folds like a cloud.
 The external balcony is
richly decorated with a
high relief that
symbolises
abundance, fertility,
prosperity and wisdom.
 On the bottom of the hall,
decorated with columns of
granite and mounted by
the family stem one can
find an alcove that
separates the public part
of the palace from the
private apartments, there
is also a particular
bathroom, entirely
decorated in wood, with a
marble roman floor
originating from the
excavations of the Catania
Roman Spas .
Don’t miss…….the ties between CATANIA and MOUNT ETNA, the highest
and most active VOLCANO in Europe, are strict and inseparable
Etna dominates the city from on high, drawing the vast landscape that
runs from the coastal strip facing the Ionian sea.
The area is protected by the vast ETNA NATURAL PARK established in
1987.
Here are some of the reasons for which UNESCO chose to make the
Sicilian mount a member of the WORLD HERITAGE GROUP (June
2013).
Mount Etna
….you can always fell she’s there…
Prodotto da Michele Finocchiaro e tutto il I
Istituto Comprensivo Fabrizio de André