Caltagirone

The eagle-shaped city

The city of Caltagirone has very ancient origins; the first traces of settlements date back to the Neolithic age. Thanks to its strategic position on the fertile plain of the Hyblaean mountains, it became a destination for the Normans and the Greeks and Romans before them.
The city, which has always been very active, began its urban renewal even before the catastrophic earthquake of 1693. At the end of the 16th century the city was expanding.
The mother church and the castle were the focal point of the city, but with the construction of new districts it was necessary to build specific connecting roads.
In this way, roads were inserted to connect the area of San Giorgio with that of San Giacomo from east to west, and from north to south between the mother church and the southern quarter.
It was during this time that the extraordinary Scalinata di Santa Maria del Monte (Staircase of St. Mary of the Mountain) and the bridge of San Francesco were built, both highly coveted by the Franciscans. Seen from above, the town’s new configuration was shaped like an eagle: the head was the former castle, the wings the quarters of San Giacomo and San Giorgio, and the tail the quarter of San Francesco.
aerea con drone

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

A stone garden

The Staircase of Angels

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

Altars, saints and sculptural works

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

The expansion of space and changing reality

The Palazzo dei due mori

The Church of St. Benedict

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

The two churches

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

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

The articulated interior spaces

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

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

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

A unifying project for the city of Catania

The Church of St. Francis

The interior and works of art

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

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

The palace, the town, the church

The Franciscan convent

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

The Benedictines’ library

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

The Church of St. Paul

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

St. Agatha and the candelore

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The interior of the church: space and colour

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

The eagle-shaped city

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

One city, three sites

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

Reconstruction after the earthquake

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

The church and the college

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

City and nature

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

The Church of Madonna della Stella

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

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

A casket of precious works

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

Religious architecture

A heritage of votive works

Luminous sacred spaces

The casket of austerity under the great dome

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

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

The new roads of the city

The city within the city

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

A story of rebirth

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

The city palace

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

The works in the church

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

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

Art in the cathedral

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

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

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

The church and the monastery

The art of maiolica

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

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

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele