Introduction to Val di Noto

The expansion of space and changing reality

Baroque encouraged a new view of the world where reality and fiction animated the art of painting, sculpture and architecture before merging into unexpected scenic sights that roused wonder and amazement.
The anthropocentric doctrines of the Renaissance, accompanied by a static view of society, were replaced by the need to identify with a mobile universe, thanks also to the new cosmological discoveries of Nicolaus Copernicus and the advent of new trade routes that broadened horizons that were previously unknown. In Baroque, renewed demands came to life that led to today’s culture and indispensable components of contemporary town planning.
In the Val di Noto, the innovative drive of this cultural and artistic period goes beyond the aesthetic revolution promoted by it, giving importance to the urgencies of the urban architectural context of each city affected by the terrible earthquake of 1693.

Art in the cathedral

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

The expansion of space and changing reality

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

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

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

A stone garden

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

The two churches

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A heritage of votive works

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

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

The church and the monastery

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

The art of maiolica

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

Altars, saints and sculptural works

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

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

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

The articulated interior spaces

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

The Church of St. Francis

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

Reconstruction after the earthquake

The palace, the town, the church

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

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

City and nature

The city within the city

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

The Church of St. Paul

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

Religious architecture

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

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

The eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

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

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

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

The works in the church

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

The new roads of the city

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

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

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

The Franciscan convent

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

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

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

The city palace

Luminous sacred spaces

The Palazzo dei due mori

One city, three sites

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

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

The Church of Madonna della Stella

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

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

A casket of precious works

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

The church and the college

The Benedictines’ library

The Church of St. Benedict

A unifying project for the city of Catania

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The casket of austerity under the great dome

A story of rebirth

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

The Staircase of Angels

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

St. Agatha and the candelore

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

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

The interior and works of art

The interior of the church: space and colour