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 interior and its masterpieces

The Baroque town by the sea

An eagle-shaped city

A small room with a golden entrance

The city of museums

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

From International Gothic to present day

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

The two churches

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Some masterpieces

Prominent façade

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Between white and black

The disastrous earthquake

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

New roads for Catania

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

One city, three sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

Two illustrious patron saints

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The Burgos crucifix

The internal colours

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A symbol for the town

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

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The church of Carmine

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

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

A prominent church

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A miniature city

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A new site for a new church

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A square as the heart of the city

One city, two sites

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Some prestigious works

A long reconstruction

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

A majestic and luminous church

A feast only for Scicli

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The chocolate of Modica

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Feast days

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A colourful floor

A triumph of colour

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A hall for the feasts

A half-Baroque church

A talking palace

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

Discovering the mother church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A museum to save a tradition

Wonderful quick decorations

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

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The wall comes to life

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Norman apses

Feasting in Palazzolo

A new site for a new city

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Searching for colour

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Maiolica of the staircase

A city in colour

The theatre of taste

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library