Sicilian architect and town planner, Angelo Italia was born in Licata in 1628. He began working as a bricklayer and contractor with his father Francesco and then learned the basics of architecture at specialised construction sites. Among his work, the Church of San Angelo, where his artistic debut t...

The chapel's altar room is modest in size but is the figurative and architectural centrepiece of the entire environment. It is accessed via a red marble step that leads to the Crucifix positioned just above the altar. The mixed marble antependium, decorated with three arches above four spiral column...

The chapel's altar room is modest in size but is the figurative and architectural centrepiece of the entire environment. It is accessed via a red marble step that leads to the Crucifix positioned just above the altar. The mixed marble antependium, decorated with three arches above four spiral column...

The lantern, circular and polygonal in shape, is usually placed on top of a dome as a decorative crowning. Thanks to the openings and windows, the lantern filters the light, illuminating much of the building below. Used more in Renaissance art, it originated in the circular openings that the ancient...

The pilaster, like the column, is a load-bearing architectural element that can therefore have a reinforcing or decorative function. Often repeated rhythmically, the pilaster is placed against a wall and consists of a rectangular shaft, the capital and the base. The capital is usually decorated acco...

Named after its half-moon shape, the lunette is a typical feature of vaulted rooms. In vertical walls, it is the semi-circular space between the intersecting arch of the wall and the surface of the vault. It can be rounded, pointed, etc., as its profile is determined by the curvature of the intrados...

Hieratic and solemn, the half-length Christ Pantocrator appears and emerges from a precious golden background, like a casket of divine light. The Pantocrator, from the Greek word for ruler of all things, blesses the faithful with his right hand: the two arched fingers symbolise Christ's dual nature,...

Hieratic and solemn, the half-length Christ Pantocrator appears and emerges from a precious golden background, like a casket of divine light. The Pantocrator, from the Greek word for ruler of all things, blesses the faithful with his right hand: the two arched fingers symbolise Christ's dual nature,...

The apsidal dome is shaped like a semi-dome and is built on top of the tambour or supporting spandrels. This hemispherical space is ideal for fresco or mosaic decorations. In Monreale, as well as in Cefalù, there is a mosaic depicting Christ Pantocrator in the apsidal dome.</a...

In the richest repertoire of Sicilian Romanesque sculpture, genre scenes or scenes from daily life also recur. In the north-east corner of the cloister, we can see the cycle of the months of theyear with the representation of work scenes.  The "cycles of the months" illustrate the unbreakable link ...