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 illusion of light and the decorative splendour

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

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

The interior of the church: space and colour

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

The works in the church

The expansion of space and changing reality

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

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Franciscan convent

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

One city, three sites

A casket of precious works

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

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

St. Agatha and the candelore

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

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

A stone garden

The city within the city

City and nature

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

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

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

The Church of Madonna della Stella

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

Altars, saints and sculptural works

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

The two churches

A story of rebirth

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

The church and the college

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

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

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

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

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

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

The city palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Church of St. Benedict

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

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

The art of maiolica

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

The interior and works of art

The articulated interior spaces

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

Art in the cathedral

The casket of austerity under the great dome

A unifying project for the city of Catania

The eagle-shaped city

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

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

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

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

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

The Church of St. Paul

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

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

The church and the monastery

Religious architecture

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

The Staircase of Angels

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

Reconstruction after the earthquake

The palace, the town, the church

The Church of St. Francis

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

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

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Luminous sacred spaces

The new roads of the city

The Benedictines’ library

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

The Palazzo dei due mori

A heritage of votive works