The church of Santa Maria del Carmelo (St. Mary of Carmel) is located in Piazza Giacomo Matteotti in the old town. The church was part of a large, wide convent built according to some sources in the mid-13th century, and according to others around the mid-14th century.
Certainly, by the mid-15th century the convent was built and operational because the conference of the entire province of Sicily was held there. The 1693 earthquake damaged the complex, but the church escaped unscathed.
Many Santa Maria del Carmelo structures were saved and the religious building retained the original features of Gothic architecture.
In fact, the entire lower part of the façade still retains medieval elements such as the rose window
, the ogival arch
entrance portal and part of the bell tower with embrasures
.
The façade is completed by Baroque-style additions made following the earthquake: the two windows, the bell tower and the niche
completed at the top by a broken tympanum
and a statue in the middle.
The entrance to the church is preceded by a small courtyard enclosed by iron grating. It was also recently discovered that the nave
, as the church appears today, was built after the earthquake.
The senses tell the story of the Church of San Giuliano ai Crociferi
A triumph of colour
Feasting in Palazzolo
The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours
A miniature city
A colourful floor
The façade used as a puppet theatre
A city in colour
The senses tell the story of the Badia di Sant’Agata
St. Agatha and the giant candelabras
The senses tell the story of the church of Santa Maria del Carmelo
Norman apses
The Burgos crucifix
The senses tell the Mother Church of San Nicolò and of the Santissimo Salvatore
The Barresi-Branciforte lords
The role of the religious orders in rebuilding the Val di Noto
The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation
St. Sebastian, so much work!
The theatre of taste
A new site for a new city
The two churches
Searching for colour
Between white and black
Prominent façade
The colours of the cathedral
New roads for Catania
An eagle-shaped city
The internal colours
Wonderful quick decorations
From St. Thomas to St. Joseph
A majestic and luminous church
A Nobel Prize in Modica
The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)
The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe
The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci
A symbol for the town
Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?
The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso
Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town
Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family
Feast days
The character of Badia Sant’Agata
A half-Baroque church
The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca
The senses tell the story of the church of San Giovanni Battista
A new palace for the La Rocca lords
A prominent church
Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo
From International Gothic to present day
The interior and its masterpieces
Freedom of worship and the role of the Catholic Church in the diffusion of Baroque
Some prestigious works
The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata
One city, three sites
A square as the heart of the city
Connections with other UNESCO sites
The senses tell the story of the Church of San Giovanni Evangelista
A feast only for Scicli
The church of Carmine
A new site for a new church
The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano
A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)
Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto
The city of museums
The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto
A talking palace
A long reconstruction
Discovering the mother church
The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe
The wall comes to life
The Baroque town by the sea
Modica, a city with ancient origins
Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library
The Maiolica of the staircase
Limestone, the colour of harmony
Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century
The chocolate of Modica
The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers
A museum to save a tradition
A design by Vincenzo Sinatra
The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara
A hall for the feasts
The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara
From the contrast of the exterior to the internal jubilation of colours
The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento
Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom
The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction
Church of San Giuliano (St. Julian) on Via dei Crociferi: reconstruction
The Staircase of Angels
Some masterpieces
One city, two sites
The disastrous earthquake
The senses tell the Benedictine Monastery and San NicoIò l’Arena
A small room with a golden entrance
The senses tell the story of the staircase of Santa Maria del Monte
MiC – Ministero della Cultura
Legge 77/2006 - Misure Speciali di Tutela e Fruizione dei Siti Italiani di Interesse Culturale, Paesaggistico e Ambientale, inseriti nella “Lista Del Patrimonio Mondiale”, posti sotto la Tutela dell’ UNESCO Regione Siciliana.
Assessorato dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana, Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana.
Parco archeologico della Valle dei Templi di Agrigento.