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.

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Many owners, one palace

The theatre of taste

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

A small room with a golden entrance

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Wonderful quick decorations

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A museum to save a tradition

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

An eagle-shaped city

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A hall for the feasts

A half-Baroque church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The disastrous earthquake

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Some prestigious works

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A new site for a new church

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

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

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A city in colour

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Two illustrious patron saints

Prominent façade

A square as the heart of the city

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

The internal colours

One city, three sites

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A miniature city

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Burgos crucifix

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

One city, two sites

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

The colours of the cathedral

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Feasting in Palazzolo

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

The Baroque town by the sea

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A colourful floor

The city of museums

Feast days

Some masterpieces

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A symbol for the town

The church of Carmine

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The interior and its masterpieces

The Maiolica of the staircase

Norman apses

A new site for a new city

The Staircase of Angels

A long reconstruction

The two churches

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A prominent church

A majestic and luminous church

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Searching for colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Between white and black

Discovering the mother church

From International Gothic to present day

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

New roads for Catania

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

The wall comes to life

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A talking palace

A triumph of colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto