Introduction to Val di Noto

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

Baroque is a particular cultural and artistic period that began in Rome in the early 17th century before spreading across Europe, in various forms, in the second half of the century. The negative connotation attributed to Baroque by 18th-century critics, who also coined the term, was aimed at artists who in their architecture and painting had moved away from the principles of harmony, beauty and functionality found in Renaissance culture.
The Enlightenment theorists and rationalists saw in the artistic experimentalism of the new aesthetic style bizarre, eccentric and fantastic elements in stark contrast with the harmony derived from the rigorous application of geometric and proportional principles used in the Renaissance. The 19th century brought a new appreciation for Baroque art and the end of its negative connotations. A more positive and diluted interpretation of the strong communicative position of Baroque spread from the end of the 19th century, a period that recognised the importance in art of a new perception of space, with its symbolic and scenographic force that was widely accepted by both aristocratic and less affluent classes.

The eagle-shaped city

Reconstruction after the earthquake

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

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

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

The expansion of space and changing reality

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

A unifying project for the city of Catania

City and nature

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

The articulated interior spaces

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

One city, three sites

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

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

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

A story of rebirth

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

Altars, saints and sculptural works

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

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

The Church of St. Francis

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

The Franciscan convent

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

Luminous sacred spaces

The casket of austerity under the great dome

The Church of St. Paul

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

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

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

The Staircase of Angels

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 Church of San Michele

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

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

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

The church and the monastery

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

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

The palace, the town, the church

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

The new roads of the city

The Palazzo dei due mori

The Benedictines’ library

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

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

A stone garden

The two churches

The interior of the church: space and colour

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

A casket of precious works

The interior and works of art

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

The city palace

Art in the cathedral

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

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

A heritage of votive works

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

Religious architecture

The Church of Madonna della Stella

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

The city within the city

The church and the college

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

The Church of St. Benedict

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

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

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

St. Agatha and the candelore

The works in the church

The art of maiolica

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

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