Introduction to Val di Noto

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium 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.
18th-century theorists saw and recognised in Baroque art bizarre, eccentric and fantastic elements in stark contrast with the harmony derived from the rigorous application of geometric, proportional principles used in the Renaissance.
Baroque was considered in a more positive light 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 the aristocratic and less affluent classes.

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A new site for a new church

A talking palace

Church of San Giuliano (St. Julian) on Via dei Crociferi: reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The role of the religious orders in rebuilding the Val di Noto

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A triumph of colour

The Staircase of Angels

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Freedom of worship and the role of the Catholic Church in the diffusion of Baroque

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the Benedictine Monastery and San NicoIò l’Arena

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Baroque town by the sea

Searching for colour

Discovering the mother church

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

From International Gothic to present day

Prominent façade

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

One city, three sites

A miniature city

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the church of Santa Maria del Carmelo

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Many owners, one palace

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Burgos crucifix

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The two churches

New roads for Catania

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The theatre of taste

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A small room with a golden entrance

A museum to save a tradition

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Some prestigious works

A new site for a new city

A city in colour

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Two illustrious patron saints

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The church of Carmine

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

A colourful floor

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giovanni Battista

Connections with other UNESCO sites

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A long reconstruction

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A half-Baroque church

Between white and black

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

A symbol for the town

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Norman apses

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The internal colours

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A prominent church

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

From the contrast of the exterior to the internal jubilation of colours

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A square as the heart of the city

A feast only for Scicli

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell the Mother Church of San Nicolò and of the Santissimo Salvatore

Wonderful quick decorations

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The city of museums

Some masterpieces

The disastrous earthquake

The interior and its masterpieces

One city, two sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The wall comes to life

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Feast days

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A majestic and luminous church