Modica

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

The interior of the church is clearly different to the austere exterior.ingresso verso abside
Though the architectural forms are more sober than in other Baroque churches, the decorations are sumptuous and cover the entire surface of the intradoses of the vaults, concentrated in the apse area.
dettaglio colonna marmo verdeThe interior space is divided into three naves marked by fourteen columns with Corinthian capitals and arcades leading to the apse, the central point of the church.
The vault of the central nave is decorated with sixteen painted medallions and frescoes depicting stories from the Old Testament by Gian Battista and Stefano Ragazzi, completed in 1780.
dett pavimentoThe side naves are defined by niches and altars luxuriously decorated with precious materials and separated by coupled columns , some in marble, others decorated in stucco. A pleasant lighting effect is created in this area thanks to the soft light entering from the lunette windows, which are also decorated on the inside.
The 1864 floor is made up of polychrome marble, white marble and black pietra pece where geometric designs and curvilinear decorations alternate with those of the vault. Also in this case, the different use of polished and opaque materials causes light to be reflected in different ways, thus creating multiple perceptions of the room in a continuous play of illusory effects.

The palace, the town, the church

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

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

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

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

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

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

City and nature

The Church of St. Francis

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

The two churches

The works in the church

The Church of Madonna della Stella

The eagle-shaped city

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

A story of rebirth

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

Luminous sacred spaces

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

The Franciscan convent

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Benedictines’ library

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

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

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

The church and the college

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

The Palazzo dei due mori

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

The new roads of the city

A stone garden

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

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

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

A heritage of votive works

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

The Church of St. Benedict

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

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

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

Art in the cathedral

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

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

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

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

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

Reconstruction after the earthquake

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

The city within the city

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

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

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

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

The interior and works of art

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

The church and the monastery

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

A casket of precious works

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

The expansion of space and changing reality

Religious architecture

The articulated interior spaces

The city palace

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

The interior of the church: space and colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

Altars, saints and sculptural works

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

The art of maiolica

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

St. Agatha and the candelore

The casket of austerity under the great dome

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

The Church of St. Paul

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

A unifying project for the city of Catania

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

One city, three sites