Scicli

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

As you enter the church of San Giovanni Evangelista (St. John the Baptist), the perception of the bright and scenic space is also given thanks to the works housed within it: endless frescoes, paintings, altars, iridescent stucco, stained glass windows, decorations and ornaments.
There is one work that stands out from the others. The Burgos crucifix, commonly known as “Christ in a skirt”, is a painting that depicts the crucifixion.
The uniqueness of this work lies in its iconography and depiction. The background of the painting is so dark that you can barely make out the wooden cross. Christ’s pose is traditional: arms open, feet fixed to the cross, wounded body and his defenceless head leaning to one side wearing the crown of thorns. What differs from common depictions is the embroidered white garment, with its soft grey shades that emphasise its movement, placed between the waist and ankles.
Below the nailed feet are two silver cups, whose iconographic meaning is unknown, and an ostrich egg, a symbol of resurrection.
On the work you can read the date 1696, but the name of the artist, probably Spanish, is not visible.
The painting could be a donation from the Di Stefano family (Giovanna Di Stefano founded the monastery and was married to Don Girolamo Ribera of Toledo, Spain) or may have arrived at the monastery as a gift from an aristocratic nun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

The palace, the town, the church

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

The church and the monastery

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

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

The Benedictines’ library

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

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

The Church of Madonna della Stella

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

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The Church of St. Benedict

The interior and works of art

The works in the church

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A stone garden

The casket of austerity under the great dome

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

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

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

A casket of precious works

Altars, saints and sculptural works

The city within the city

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

The articulated interior spaces

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

St. Agatha and the candelore

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

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

One city, three sites

City and nature

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

A story of rebirth

A unifying project for the city of Catania

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

The Staircase of Angels

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

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

The Church of St. Francis

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

Art in the cathedral

The two churches

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Church of St. Paul

The city palace

Religious architecture

The art of maiolica

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

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

The Palazzo dei due mori

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

The eagle-shaped city

Reconstruction after the earthquake

The church and the college

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

A heritage of votive works

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

The interior of the church: space and colour

The new roads of the city

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

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

Luminous sacred spaces

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

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

The Franciscan convent

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

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

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

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

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

The expansion of space and changing reality

A new site for the church of San Giorgio