A trifora is a type of window that can be inserted inside or outside a building. It is divided vertically into three parts by small columns or pillars and can often be framed by an arch....

The diocesan museum houses artefacts from the church, the convent and local institutions. Preservation of the architecture of the complex is an integral part of the museum's mission. It is divided into four sections, where sacred objects are exhibited within the spaces of the former convent. The s...

A tympanum is said to be broken when the horizontal cornice is missing the central part or if the buttresses, i.e. the elements giving the triangular or curved shape of the tympanum, are separated. This type of tympanum is also used as an overhead part of windows....

  The four "large boards" inserted in the façade of the church contain reliefs alluding to Marian symbols: starting from the bottom left, we find a palm tree and a cedar tree; in the second level, we can see the gate of heaven and the Tower of David. Above, the lunette features the Franciscan em...

The Palermo-born sculptor worked during the second half of the 18th century in some Sicilian cities and on the largest buildings in Catania. In particular, he was part of the group of sculptors who worked on the Benedictine Monastery. In 1767 he made the models of the statues for the façade of ...

[caption id="attachment_15877" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] chiesa di san Domenico[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15876" align="aligncenter" width="666"] Santa Maria della Pietà[/caption]...

The Scalinata di Santa Maria del Monte (Staircase of St. Mary of the Mountain) is by nature a very scenic architectural element within the city of Caltagirone. Throughout May, on the occasion of the Infiorata for the festivities of the Madonna dei Conadomini, it can be seen completely adorned with t...

The dome was built after the earthquake of 1693. The structure is a segmental dome, has a single layer, and was once covered with square glazed terracotta tiles, which were removed during the last restoration in 2008. It is punctuated by double ribs converging in the lantern, which has a small cro...

The composite order is an architectural order characterised by very slender proportions and sumptuous decorations. It comes from the union of Ionic and Corinthian orders....

Domenico Gagini was born in the Canton of Ticino, in Bissone, in the 1430s. He began working as a sculptor in Genoa, where he built and decorated the chapel of San Giovanni Battista (St. John the Baptist) in Genoa Cathedral. Later he moved to Southern Italy, first to Campania then to Sicily, impo...