Introduction to Val di Noto

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium 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.
18th-century theorists saw and recognised in Baroque art bizarre, eccentric and fantastic elements in stark contrast with the harmony derived from the rigorous application of geometric, proportional principles used in the Renaissance.
Baroque was considered in a more positive light 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 the aristocratic and less affluent classes.

The senses tell the Mother Church of San Nicolò and of the Santissimo Salvatore

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the church of Santa Maria del Carmelo

A miniature city

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Searching for colour

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Two illustrious patron saints

The chocolate of Modica

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A talking palace

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the Benedictine Monastery and San NicoIò l’Arena

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

From the contrast of the exterior to the internal jubilation of colours

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

From International Gothic to present day

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The two churches

The Burgos crucifix

Norman apses

Some prestigious works

A museum to save a tradition

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giovanni Battista

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The role of the religious orders in rebuilding the Val di Noto

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A city in colour

The wall comes to life

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

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

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

Discovering the mother church

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Church of San Giuliano (St. Julian) on Via dei Crociferi: reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Many owners, one palace

A triumph of colour

The interior and its masterpieces

A symbol for the town

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The Staircase of Angels

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A majestic and luminous church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A prominent church

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Feast days

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A hall for the feasts

A new site for a new city

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A square as the heart of the city

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A feast only for Scicli

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The disastrous earthquake

The Maiolica of the staircase

The theatre of taste

The internal colours

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Between white and black

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Limestone, the colour of harmony

One city, three sites

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Baroque town by the sea

Freedom of worship and the role of the Catholic Church in the diffusion of Baroque

The church of Carmine

An eagle-shaped city

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The colours of the cathedral

A colourful floor

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

One city, two sites

Prominent façade

Wonderful quick decorations

Some masterpieces

A new site for a new church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A small room with a golden entrance

The city of museums

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A long reconstruction