Introduction to Val di Noto

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

The stylistic features of Baroque civic architecture are distinguished from religious architecture by the sobriety of the layout and the rigid compositional lines of the façades.
In most recurring typologies, the sculptural form of the façade composition is abandoned, with the elevation framing following the classic canons of the Renaissance period: base, facing and crowning.
The Baroque genius developed within this composition; the façade was embellished and enriched with figurative elements in high relief that created a play of shadows and chiaroscuro intended to exalt its sometimes grotesque forms.
The base of the buildings, simple in its division compared to Renaissance buildings, has arches that accommodate workshops and shops.

The articulated interior spaces

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Religious architecture

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

The interior and works of art

One city, three sites

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

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

The Church of Madonna della Stella

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

The palace, the town, the church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A stone garden

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

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

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

A casket of precious works

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

A unifying project for the city of Catania

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Benedictines’ library

The Franciscan convent

The Church of St. Francis

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

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

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

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

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

Art in the cathedral

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

The Palazzo dei due mori

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

The city palace

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

The two churches

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

The interior of the church: space and colour

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

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

The art of maiolica

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

The church and the college

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

The casket of austerity under the great dome

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

A story of rebirth

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

City and nature

Altars, saints and sculptural works

A heritage of votive works

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

The Staircase of Angels

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

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

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

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

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

The expansion of space and changing reality

St. Agatha and the candelore

The Church of St. Paul

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

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

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

The eagle-shaped city

Reconstruction after the earthquake

The city within the city

The works in the church

The Church of St. Benedict

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

The new roads of the city

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

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

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

The church and the monastery

Luminous sacred spaces

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha