Introduction to Val di Noto

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

Baroque creativity develops in the central part of the elevation.
The long balconies of the piano nobile (main floor) are embellished by elegant wrought iron railings with a classic round-bottomed shape; the cornices of the large windows are enriched by sculptures and allegories that recall abundance and wealth.
The recurring themes taken from Baroque iconography and widely documented in still life paintings include cornucopias, grapes and garlands. The latter differ from their previous depictions due to their dynamics that enhance the creative spirit of the period.
The most emblematic elements are the large corbels that support the protrusions. It is here that the engravers gave free rein to their imagination, drawing from the vast graphic repertoire of Baroque imagery.
In this way, masks and grotesques were created, modelled using local stone to depict animals and anthropomorphic elements with curious expressions that attract the eye of passers-by, rousing “wonder and amazement”.

A unifying project for the city of Catania

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

A story of rebirth

The works in the church

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

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

City and nature

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

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

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

The Church of St. Francis

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

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

The Franciscan convent

The eagle-shaped city

The casket of austerity under the great dome

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

The new roads of the city

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

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The interior and works of art

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

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

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

The Church of St. Paul

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

The church and the monastery

A casket of precious works

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

The interior of the church: space and colour

The Benedictines’ library

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Religious architecture

Altars, saints and sculptural works

The Church of St. Benedict

The expansion of space and changing reality

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

A stone garden

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

The palace, the town, the church

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

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

The Church of Madonna della Stella

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

One city, three sites

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

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

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

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

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

The city within the city

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

The city palace

Luminous sacred spaces

The two churches

Art in the cathedral

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

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

The church and the college

Reconstruction after the earthquake

St. Agatha and the candelore

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

The Palazzo dei due mori

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

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

A heritage of votive works

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

The Staircase of Angels

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

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

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

The articulated interior spaces

The art of maiolica

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

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

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin