Catania

A unifying project for the city of Catania

Catania is one of the cities located in eastern Sicily that overlooks the Ionian Sea and extends to the slopes of Mount Etna.
Etna Catania
The volcano is the symbol of the Etnean capital, though over the centuries its constant activity has been the cause of ruinous events such as the catastrophic eruption of 1669, traces of which are still visible along the streets, and more clearly in the Benedictine monastery.
In 1693 the city was struck by a disastrous earthquake and razed to the ground.
Reconstruction took place on the same site given the strategic position for trade between the coast and further inland. Where possible, the pre-existing buildings were restored, including the fortifications, apses and transept of the Norman Cathedral and some ancient buildings.
The city’s reaction to the earthquake was characterised by the great commitment of the Spanish ruling class, the state and religious authorities who demonstrated a remarkable capacity for organisation and foresight.
Giuseppe Lanza, Duke of Camastra was appointed by the Viceroy Duke of Uzeda as vicar general and quickly implemented the plan to rebuild Catania as soon as 1694. This “plan” was conceived in a unitary fashion, set on a system of roads that were orthogonal and no longer exclusively rigid. Within the system were a series of wide streets and squares that were geometrically different from one another.

Luminous sacred spaces

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The Church of St. Paul

The new roads of the city

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

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

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

The two churches

The works in the church

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

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

The interior and works of art

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

Religious architecture

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

Reconstruction after the earthquake

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

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

The casket of austerity under the great dome

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

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

The church and the monastery

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

A unifying project for the city of Catania

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

The Church of St. Benedict

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

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

Art in the cathedral

The articulated interior spaces

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

The eagle-shaped city

The Church of Madonna della Stella

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

A stone garden

A casket of precious works

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

The Benedictines’ library

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

The Palazzo dei due mori

The church and the college

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

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

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

City and nature

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

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

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

The Franciscan convent

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

A heritage of votive works

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

The Church of St. Francis

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

The Staircase of Angels

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

One city, three sites

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

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

The art of maiolica

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

Altars, saints and sculptural works

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

The city within the city

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

The interior of the church: space and colour

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

A story of rebirth

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

St. Agatha and the candelore

The expansion of space and changing reality

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

The palace, the town, the church

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

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

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

The city palace

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata