pieghevole

monastery was saved, but not the Church attached to it, which was completely
destroyed by the lava, leaving behind a lunar landscape.
Eighteen years after the eruption, in 1687, the reconstruction of the Church
started, probably based on a project of the roman architect Contini.
In the night between the 10th and 11th of January of 1693 the city of Catania
was shacked. The earthquake of 1693 was one of the most devastating catastrophes
in Eastern Sicily. According to researchers, the earthquake reached
a magnitude of 7,7 degrees on the Richter scale. The day after the earthquake,
the city was destroyed and most of the citizens were buried under the ruins.
The basement and part of the first floor of the Monastery , were still safe.
Only 14 columns of the cloister were still standing, the others were destroyed.
In 1702, nine years after the earthquake, the reconstruction of the monastery
started. On top of the lava ‘wall’, were built two gardens: the botanical garden
– the wonders garden – and the novices’ garden.
The church of San Nicolò l’Arena was conceived as a small Sicilian Saint Peter,
but its facade remained unfinished. Extended and enriched with decorations,
the monastery became one of the biggest in Europe, following the other
Benedictine Monastery of Mafra in Portugal.
Various famous Sicilian architects took part in the reconstruction: Ittar, Battaglia,
Battaglia Santangelo, and Palazzotto. Craftsmen came from various Sicilian
towns: Palermo, Messina, Siracusa. Giovan Battista Vaccarini.
In 1866, the state confiscated the Benedictine Monastery, which passed under
the state’s property. From 1868, the monastery was re-used for civil scopes.