Catania

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

One of the most fascinating places in the monastic complex is the Giardino dei Novizi (Garden of Novices).
A place that perhaps more than any other inside the complex has suffered great damage and changes, but was also excellently restored by the architect Giancarlo De Carlo , who worked on restoring the entire monastery just over thirty years ago.
The Garden of Novices, as its name suggests, was reserved for those who were undertaking their spiritual journey to become part of the religious order. They were required to observe and learn the Benedictine way of life. The garden was created on top of the lava bed of 1669 in the guise of a hanging garden, but was destroyed to house a gymnasium over the course of the 20th century.
The gymnasium was demolished during the years of restoration of the complex. The architect De Carlo restored the area by adding a spiral staircase with modern shapes and a fountain, turning it into a green space open to all.
giardino dei novizi

A heritage of votive works

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

Art in the cathedral

The casket of austerity under the great dome

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

The Franciscan convent

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

The eagle-shaped city

The two churches

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

One city, three sites

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

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

A casket of precious works

The Benedictines’ library

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

The interior of the church: space and colour

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

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

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

The Church of St. Benedict

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

The expansion of space and changing reality

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

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

The church and the monastery

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

The new roads of the city

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Palazzo dei due mori

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

The Church of St. Paul

Religious architecture

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

The Church of Madonna della Stella

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

The Staircase of Angels

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

A story of rebirth

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

A stone garden

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The works in the church

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

The city within the city

The city palace

A unifying project for the city of Catania

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

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

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

The Church of St. Francis

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

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

The interior and works of art

The art of maiolica

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

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

City and nature

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

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

The articulated interior spaces

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Altars, saints and sculptural works

St. Agatha and the candelore

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

Luminous sacred spaces

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

The palace, the town, the church

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

The church and the college

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

Reconstruction after the earthquake