Chiesa di San Nicolò all'Arena

Directly opposite Chiesa di San Giuliano is the tiny Via Gesuiti, which leads west to Piazza Dante and Sicily's largest church, the Chiesa di San Nicolò all'Arena. Commissioned in 1687, work on the building was interrupted by the earthquake of 1693 and then by problems with its size - it is 105m long, 48m wide and its cupola is 62m high. The church was never completed. It has a terribly ugly façade, a stark contrast to the rich embellishments that adorn the city's other baroque structures. Directly behind the church and part of the same complex is the massive Benedictine Monastero di San Nicolò all'Arena, built in 1703 and now part of the city's university. It is the second largest monastery in Europe and has some lovely internal cloisters and one of the most valuable libraries on the island, complete with its original bookcases and 18th-century majolica tiled floors.

The cavernous interior is equally devoid of frills, the long walls interrupted by a series of altars that are almost completely bare. The presbytery features a splendid organ crafted by Donato del Piano.