The writer Giovanni Verga (1840-1922) decided to visit a cousin who had embraced monastic life. During their meeting, he was particularly struck by the estrangement between them; the nuns, who sat behind window grilles, had their faces hidden and were not easily distinguishable. This physical an...

The Benedictine Nuns of Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament are cloistered nuns dedicated to uninterrupted Eucharistic adoration, which involves endless activity day and night. Their activity aims to makes reparations and atone for sin, through the "Ora et Labora" (Pray and Work) rule of ...

The side portal of the old mother church of San Giorgio was saved from the earthquake of 1693 and can still be admired today near the Hyblaean Garden. The magnificent portal in Catalan-Gothic style is made entirely of carved stone, with the typical splay seen in most portals of that period. In the...

Rosario Gagliardi was born around 1690 in Syracuse to Onofrio Domenico, a Calabrian carpenter who had settled in Syracuse, and Maria Conti. The family lived in Syracuse in a district called "degli Bottagherelli" until 1707, when their father moved to Noto for work. It was in this town that Gagliar...

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....