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

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San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

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The casket of austerity under the great dome

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The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

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The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

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The new roads of the city

The interior of the church: space and colour

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The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

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The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

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Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

The Staircase of Angels

The palace, the town, the church

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St. Agatha and the candelore

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The Benedictines’ library

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

The eagle-shaped city

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

The articulated interior spaces

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The two churches

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Art in the cathedral

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

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Reconstruction after the earthquake

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The Church of St. Benedict

Luminous sacred spaces

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

A story of rebirth

The Church of Madonna della Stella

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

Religious architecture

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

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

The church and the monastery

City and nature

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

A stone garden

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