Introduction to Val di Noto

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

Baroque was born and developed in a historical period worn out by conflict between the Catholic Counter-Reformation and Protestantism that led to the Thirty Years’ War, a scene of blood and death in Europe.
With the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, freedom of worship was approved for the three main faiths (Protestant, Calvinist and Catholic), despite the fact that the major European powers involved in the conflict sought the undisputed dominance of one religion.
The Catholic Church had a decisive role in spreading Baroque, which was used as a propaganda tool against the rampant forms of Protestantism and heresy.
Baroque art was born to celebrate the power of the Catholic Church, leading artists to create pictorial, sculptural and architectural representations that amazed and astounded the observer.
Baroque encouraged a new vision of the world in which reality and fiction merged to create veritable masterpieces.
Colour and colourful marble were used to decorate church interiors and unusual, often curvilinear shapes such as ovals were used for church floor plans. It was important to incite amazement and demonstrate the greatness of papal authority.

Discovering the mother church

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

One city, three sites

The internal colours

A colourful floor

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The disastrous earthquake

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Some masterpieces

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Two illustrious patron saints

The Baroque town by the sea

The chocolate of Modica

A half-Baroque church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

One city, two sites

The interior and its masterpieces

A feast only for Scicli

A small room with a golden entrance

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

New roads for Catania

A talking palace

Norman apses

From International Gothic to present day

A symbol for the town

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Many owners, one palace

A long reconstruction

The wall comes to life

The colours of the cathedral

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Some prestigious works

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

A square as the heart of the city

Feast days

A prominent church

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A city in colour

The theatre of taste

The city of museums

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Staircase of Angels

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A hall for the feasts

Wonderful quick decorations

A new site for a new city

The two churches

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Maiolica of the staircase

Searching for colour

Feasting in Palazzolo

A majestic and luminous church

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

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Between white and black

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

The church of Carmine

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

A miniature city

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A new site for a new church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A triumph of colour

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

A museum to save a tradition

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Prominent façade