Militello in Val di Catania

Luminous sacred spaces

interno della chiesaAs you enter the church you are almost blinded by the powerful light of this space.
The walls are completely white, adorned with 18th-century stucco and gilding, works by the artist Onofrio Russo from Policoro.
The elegant pillars with exposed stone bases and the arcades that divide the central nave from the two lateral ones, create a fitting pattern that draws the eye to the apse.
From this point, raised by five mixtilinear steps, stands the main altar, a wooden piece from 1753, which frames the 18th-century altarpiece of the Nativity of the Virgin by Olivio Sozzi, surrounded by the soft light from the two small openings on the apse. The scenic dramatics inside this church are also given by the contrast between the white walls and the many colourful works that dot the space.
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Along the side naves, each bay is characterised by a marble altar surmounted by a painting or a fresco, while the vaults are highlighted by gilding and have a frescoed tondo in the centre, which accentuates the three-dimensionality.

dettaglio tondi su volte della navate laterali
Remember that the Barresi and Branciforte families from the 15th century promoted many artists and played an important role in the reconstruction of the church of Santa Maria della Stella dei Barresi, hence its name.
One of the most famous of the many artistic artefacts is the glazed terracotta of the Nativity by Andrea della Robbia . Also worthy of mention is the tomb of Blasco II Barresi of 1465.
natività Andrea della Robbia sepolcro

City and nature

Art in the cathedral

The palace, the town, the church

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

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

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

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

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

The Franciscan convent

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

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

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

One city, three sites

St. Agatha and the candelore

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

The interior of the church: space and colour

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

The Church of St. Benedict

The Church of St. Paul

The two churches

The Benedictines’ library

The new roads of the city

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

A unifying project for the city of Catania

A story of rebirth

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

The Staircase of Angels

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

Religious architecture

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

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

The city within the city

A casket of precious works

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

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

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

The works in the church

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

The eagle-shaped city

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

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

Reconstruction after the earthquake

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

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

The city palace

The articulated interior spaces

The casket of austerity under the great dome

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

Luminous sacred spaces

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

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

A stone garden

The Church of Madonna della Stella

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

Altars, saints and sculptural works

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

The interior and works of art

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

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

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

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

The Palazzo dei due mori

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

A heritage of votive works

The church and the monastery

The Church of St. Francis

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

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

The expansion of space and changing reality

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

The art of maiolica

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

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

The church and the college

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