Scicli

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

foto della chiesa dalla piazzaBuilt in the new town next to the current town hall , the church of San Giovanni Evangelista (St. John the Evangelist) is one of the most representative examples of Baroque in Scicli.
The original building, founded by Baroness Giovanna Di Stefano, was destroyed by the earthquake of 1693. Already in the early 18th century the nuns were working on the reconstruction of the convent, which was later demolished to build the town hall.
Reconstruction of the church began between 1760 and 1765, led by the architect Friar Alberto Maria di San Giovanni Battista.
In 1777 the engineer Vincenzo Sinatra was summoned to be a surveyor.
Finally, the architect Don Vincenzo Signorelli worked on the interior decorations.
The layout of the façade reflects the standards of late Baroque and it can be appreciated in all its scenic spirit from the narrow Via Duca degli Abruzzi located opposite.

The Church of St. John the Evangelist
The church is a precious example of Sicilian baroque. It is built on three floors (called “orders”) with curved lines, which give the observer the impression of a structure projected upwards. The entrance portal is preceded by a staircase of seven curved steps that follows the forms of the facade. The limestone prospectus is divided into three orders or plans of Ionic type with capitals decorated with faces and festoons. The concave and convex shape of the first band is emphasized by the play of light and shadow of the binary columns. The second band has a central opening and two smaller side and is surrounded by a curved balcony in wrought iron, called jealousy. Finally the summit or third order is concluded by a broken tympanum that closes the vertical momentum of the facade.

The white exterior is divided into three levels, punctuated by pairs of columns that emphasise the convex shape in the centre and the concave sides and increase the play of light.
movimento ondulatorio della facciata coppia di colonne
One of the most interesting elements are the Ionic capitals decorated with faces and festoons that are repeated with different details on each level.
The lower section is traced by the wooden entrance portal and by two small side niches. The central section is defined by three openings of different sizes concealed by a Louvre window balcony enriched by a wrought iron railing and is completed by an elegant curved broken tympanum .
Festoni sui capitelli delle colonne del primo dettaglio Gelosie, secondo livello

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

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

Religious architecture

The interior and works of art

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

The art of maiolica

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

The works in the church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

The new roads of the city

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

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

The church and the monastery

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

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

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

The expansion of space and changing reality

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

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Church of St. Benedict

The city within the city

A unifying project for the city of Catania

The casket of austerity under the great dome

The city palace

The articulated interior spaces

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

A story of rebirth

The Church of St. Francis

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

St. Agatha and the candelore

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

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

Art in the cathedral

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

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

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

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

A heritage of votive works

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

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

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

The Church of Madonna della Stella

The palace, the town, the church

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

A stone garden

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

Reconstruction after the earthquake

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

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

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

A casket of precious works

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

The Church of St. Paul

The Franciscan convent

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Luminous sacred spaces

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

The Benedictines’ library

City and nature

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

The Palazzo dei due mori

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

One city, three sites

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Altars, saints and sculptural works

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

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

The two churches

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

The interior of the church: space and colour

The eagle-shaped city

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

The church and the college

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism