Introduction to Val di Noto

The expansion of space and changing reality

Baroque encouraged a new view of the world where reality and fiction animated the art of painting, sculpture and architecture before merging into unexpected scenic sights that roused wonder and amazement.
The anthropocentric doctrines of the Renaissance, accompanied by a static view of society, were replaced by the need to identify with a mobile universe, thanks also to the new cosmological discoveries of Nicolaus Copernicus and the advent of new trade routes that broadened horizons that were previously unknown. In Baroque, renewed demands came to life that led to today’s culture and indispensable components of contemporary town planning.
In the Val di Noto, the innovative drive of this cultural and artistic period goes beyond the aesthetic revolution promoted by it, giving importance to the urgencies of the urban architectural context of each city affected by the terrible earthquake of 1693.

The Benedictines’ library

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

Luminous sacred spaces

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

Reconstruction after the earthquake

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

The Staircase of Angels

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

The palace, the town, the church

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

The freedom of worship and the Catholic Church’s role in the diffusion of Baroque

The expansion of space and changing reality

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

The Badia di Sant’Agata (St. Agatha’s Abbey)

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

Views denied, views conquered: the power of the devout Benedictines

The senses tell the story of the Sanctuary Church of Santa Maria della Stella

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

The casket of austerity under the great dome

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

The city within the city

The eagle-shaped city

The neo-Gothic seminary chapel: symbols, light and space

The interior of the church: space and colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The city palace

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

A stone garden

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The church and the college

The two churches

The works in the church

A unifying project for the city of Catania

Altars, saints and sculptural works

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Badia di Sant’Agata

Barresi-Branciforte: the lords of the fiefdom and the modernisation of the town

Geometry and wonder in civic architecture in the Baroque of the Val di Noto

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

City and nature

The church and the monastery

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

The Franciscan convent

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Carlo and the former Jesuit college

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Maria del Monte

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

The Church of St. Paul

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

The Church of St. Francis

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

The art of maiolica

A story of rebirth

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The new roads of the city

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

The Palazzo dei due mori

A heritage of votive works

Religious architecture

A casket of precious works

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Giovanni Evangelista

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

The articulated interior spaces

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

Art in the cathedral

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

The church of San Nicolò l’Arena: the majesty of an unfinished beauty

Piazza Duomo, the elephant fountain, the heart of the city

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

The interior and works of art

The senses tell the Benedictine Monastery and the Church of San Nicolò l’Arena

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

The Duomo di San Giorgio (Cathedral of St. George)

One city, three sites

St. Agatha and the candelore

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

The Church of Madonna della Stella

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

Verticality and dynamism of the façade of the Church of San Carlo

The Church of St. Benedict

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Giuliano ai Crociferi

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico