Introduction to Val di Noto

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

Baroque is a particular cultural and artistic period that began in Rome in the early 17th century before spreading across Europe, in various forms, in the second half of the century. The negative connotation attributed to Baroque by 18th-century critics, who also coined the term, was aimed at artists who in their architecture and painting had moved away from the principles of harmony, beauty and functionality found in Renaissance culture.
The Enlightenment theorists and rationalists saw in the artistic experimentalism of the new aesthetic style bizarre, eccentric and fantastic elements in stark contrast with the harmony derived from the rigorous application of geometric and proportional principles used in the Renaissance. The 19th century brought a new appreciation for Baroque art and the end of its negative connotations. A more positive and diluted interpretation of the strong communicative position of Baroque spread from the end of the 19th century, a period that recognised the importance in art of a new perception of space, with its symbolic and scenographic force that was widely accepted by both aristocratic and less affluent classes.

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

Art in the cathedral

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

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

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

The Staircase of Angels

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Church of St. Benedict

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

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

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

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

The church and the monastery

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

The city within the city

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

The Church of Madonna della Stella

The expansion of space and changing reality

City and nature

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

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

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

The articulated interior spaces

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

The Franciscan convent

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

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

The works in the church

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

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

The art of maiolica

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

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

A unifying project for the city of Catania

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

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

A stone garden

A casket of precious works

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

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

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

The interior and works of art

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

The Palazzo dei due mori

A story of rebirth

The casket of austerity under the great dome

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Benedictines’ library

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Church of St. Paul

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

The church and the college

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

The palace, the town, the church

Religious architecture

The interior of the church: space and colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

St. Agatha and the candelore

The two churches

The eagle-shaped city

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

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

One city, three sites

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

Luminous sacred spaces

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

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

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

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

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

Altars, saints and sculptural works

Reconstruction after the earthquake

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

The city palace

The new roads of the city

A heritage of votive works

The Church of St. Francis

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha