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.

A triumph of colour

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The interior and its masterpieces

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Prominent façade

An eagle-shaped city

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

New roads for Catania

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A square as the heart of the city

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Feast days

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A small room with a golden entrance

The Burgos crucifix

Two illustrious patron saints

Many owners, one palace

A feast only for Scicli

A talking palace

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

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

A hall for the feasts

A symbol for the town

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Wonderful quick decorations

The internal colours

One city, three sites

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Norman apses

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

From International Gothic to present day

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Discovering the mother church

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

Some prestigious works

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A majestic and luminous church

Feasting in Palazzolo

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The wall comes to life

Some masterpieces

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

A new site for a new city

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A miniature city

The theatre of taste

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

A new site for a new church

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The city of museums

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Between white and black

A prominent church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

One city, two sites

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A long reconstruction

The disastrous earthquake

Searching for colour

A museum to save a tradition

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The colours of the cathedral

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

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

The Staircase of Angels

The chocolate of Modica

A colourful floor

The church of Carmine

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The two churches

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A half-Baroque church

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