Catania

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

One of the most fascinating places in the monastic complex is the Giardino dei Novizi (Garden of Novices).
A place that perhaps more than any other inside the complex has suffered great damage and changes, but was also excellently restored by the architect Giancarlo De Carlo , who worked on restoring the entire monastery just over thirty years ago.
The Garden of Novices, as its name suggests, was reserved for those who were undertaking their spiritual journey to become part of the religious order. They were required to observe and learn the Benedictine way of life. The garden was created on top of the lava bed of 1669 in the guise of a hanging garden, but was destroyed to house a gymnasium over the course of the 20th century.
The gymnasium was demolished during the years of restoration of the complex. The architect De Carlo restored the area by adding a spiral staircase with modern shapes and a fountain, turning it into a green space open to all.
giardino dei novizi

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

Reconstruction after the earthquake

A stone garden

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

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

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

The Franciscan convent

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

The works in the church

The church and the college

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

City and nature

A casket of precious works

The two churches

The Palazzo dei due mori

The articulated interior spaces

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

A heritage of votive works

The Church of Madonna della Stella

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

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

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

The expansion of space and changing reality

The church and the monastery

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

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

Luminous sacred spaces

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

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

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

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

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The city within the city

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

St. Agatha and the candelore

Art in the cathedral

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The city palace

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Benedictines’ library

A story of rebirth

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

The eagle-shaped city

The Church of St. Benedict

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

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

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

The art of maiolica

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

The palace, the town, the church

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

Altars, saints and sculptural works

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

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

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

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

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

The Staircase of Angels

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

One city, three sites

A unifying project for the city of Catania

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

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

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

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

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

Religious architecture

The Church of St. Francis

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

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

The Church of St. Paul

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The interior of the church: space and colour

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

The interior and works of art

The casket of austerity under the great dome

The new roads of the city

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors