Militello in Val di Catania

Luminous sacred spaces

interno della chiesaAs you enter the church you are almost blinded by the powerful light of this space.
The walls are completely white, adorned with 18th-century stucco and gilding, works by the artist Onofrio Russo from Policoro.
The elegant pillars with exposed stone bases and the arcades that divide the central nave from the two lateral ones, create a fitting pattern that draws the eye to the apse.
From this point, raised by five mixtilinear steps, stands the main altar, a wooden piece from 1753, which frames the 18th-century altarpiece of the Nativity of the Virgin by Olivio Sozzi, surrounded by the soft light from the two small openings on the apse. The scenic dramatics inside this church are also given by the contrast between the white walls and the many colourful works that dot the space.
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Along the side naves, each bay is characterised by a marble altar surmounted by a painting or a fresco, while the vaults are highlighted by gilding and have a frescoed tondo in the centre, which accentuates the three-dimensionality.

dettaglio tondi su volte della navate laterali
Remember that the Barresi and Branciforte families from the 15th century promoted many artists and played an important role in the reconstruction of the church of Santa Maria della Stella dei Barresi, hence its name.
One of the most famous of the many artistic artefacts is the glazed terracotta of the Nativity by Andrea della Robbia . Also worthy of mention is the tomb of Blasco II Barresi of 1465.
natività Andrea della Robbia sepolcro

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

The city palace

The Staircase of Angels

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

Art in the cathedral

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

A stone garden

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

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

The Benedictines’ library

A casket of precious works

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

The eagle-shaped city

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

One city, three sites

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

The works in the church

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

A story of rebirth

Religious architecture

The church and the college

The Church of St. Paul

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

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

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

The Franciscan convent

The two churches

Altars, saints and sculptural works

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

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

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

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

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

The church and the monastery

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

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

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

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

The interior and works of art

A unifying project for the city of Catania

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

The Palazzo dei due mori

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The art of maiolica

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

St. Agatha and the candelore

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

A heritage of votive works

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Luminous sacred spaces

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

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

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

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

The palace, the town, the church

The interior of the church: space and colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

The new roads of the city

The casket of austerity under the great dome

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

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

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

The city within the city

The Church of St. Francis

The Church of St. Benedict

The expansion of space and changing reality

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

Reconstruction after the earthquake

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

The articulated interior spaces

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

City and nature

The Church of Madonna della Stella

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

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

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

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism