The uniqueness of this altar lies in the fact that it is veritable piece of standalone architecture and not a mere combination of several parts. It was created by the sculptor Giovanni Battista Marino based on a design attributed to the architect Vaccarini. Above the side volutes of its base, the s...

Following the great earthquake of 1693 which caused death and ruin, the city was divided between the "San Giovannari", for the patron saint St. John and the "San Giorgiari", for the patron saint St. George. The two factions were both intent on dedicating a new church to their respective patron sai...

A narthex is a room positioned at the front of the building and is used as a waiting place and filter between rooms. In churches and Christian architecture it identifies the atrium and connects the outside of the church with the naves....

The painter Rapisardi was born in Catania in 1799 and began his career in 1826 decorating some private residences in his city. He worked as a portraitist for bourgeoisie families in Catania and painted religious subjects in some Sicilian churches including the church of San Francesco d’Assisi (S...

A crypt, from the Latin crypta meaning hidden, is an underground room or complex of rooms that are not directly visible. Crypts are usually made of stone materials and house prayer chapels and tombs of important people or the martyr to whom the religious building is dedicated....

A vestibule is an architectural space used as a filter or intermediate space between the exterior and the interior that grants access to the building. In religious architecture, especially Baroque architecture, its function is to make the space feel compressed and then enlarged....

The pointed or ogival arch is a typical architectural element of the Gothic period. It was then reused in eclectic architecture. What distinguishes it from other types of arches is the pointed end....

The term monolithic indicates an element consisting of a single block of stone. A monolithic column is a column that does not have drums, i.e. the overlapping stone units that make up the column shaft....

"Ionic" indicates the type of capital with volutes and base of a pilaster, an architectural element incorporated in the wall, required to support a building's structure. It protrudes only very slightly from the wall surface....

Late Renaissance, also known as Mannerism, is an artistic and architectural movement regulated by the constant dialogue between classical culture, reflected in the form and architectural taste, and innovation, expressed by the artist's or architect's ability to make changes to the form through his o...