The church of Santa Maria del Carmelo (St. Mary of Carmel) is located in Piazza Giacomo Matteotti in the old town. The church was part of a large, wide convent built according to some sources in the mid-13th century, and according to others around the mid-14th century.
Certainly, by the mid-15th century the convent was built and operational because the conference of the entire province of Sicily was held there. The 1693 earthquake damaged the complex, but the church escaped unscathed.
Many Santa Maria del Carmelo structures were saved and the religious building retained the original features of Gothic architecture.
In fact, the entire lower part of the façade still retains medieval elements such as the rose window
, the ogival arch
entrance portal and part of the bell tower with embrasures
.
The façade is completed by Baroque-style additions made following the earthquake: the two windows, the bell tower and the niche
completed at the top by a broken tympanum
and a statue in the middle.
The entrance to the church is preceded by a small courtyard enclosed by iron grating. It was also recently discovered that the nave
, as the church appears today, was built after the earthquake.
Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?
The two churches
The senses tell the story of the church of Santa Maria del Carmelo
A talking palace
The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso
A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)
The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento
The senses tell the story of the Church of San Giuliano ai Crociferi
The senses tell the story of the church of San Giovanni Battista
A new site for a new church
The Baroque town by the sea
Feasting in Palazzolo
A small room with a golden entrance
The senses tell the Benedictine Monastery and San NicoIò l’Arena
The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours
Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century
Prominent façade
Norman apses
Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo
Wonderful quick decorations
Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom
The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe
The character of Badia Sant’Agata
A long reconstruction
The colours of the cathedral
A symbol for the town
The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)
A triumph of colour
The Burgos crucifix
The senses tell the story of the Church of San Giovanni Evangelista
From International Gothic to present day
Modica, a city with ancient origins
St. Sebastian, so much work!
A city in colour
The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano
The wall comes to life
The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers
The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci
Searching for colour
A feast only for Scicli
The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto
A new palace for the La Rocca lords
A museum to save a tradition
The Barresi-Branciforte lords
San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church
A prominent church
The senses tell the story of the staircase of Santa Maria del Monte
Feast days
San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public
One city, two sites
From St. Thomas to St. Joseph
Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family
The chocolate of Modica
The interior and its masterpieces
Discovering the mother church
Limestone, the colour of harmony
A square as the heart of the city
The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe
A new site for a new city
A half-Baroque church
Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto
The internal colours
Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town
A design by Vincenzo Sinatra
Between white and black
The role of the religious orders in rebuilding the Val di Noto
The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara
The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca
A miniature city
The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction
A colourful floor
Connections with other UNESCO sites
The senses tell the Mother Church of San Nicolò and of the Santissimo Salvatore
The disastrous earthquake
An eagle-shaped city
St. Agatha and the giant candelabras
Some masterpieces
From the contrast of the exterior to the internal jubilation of colours
One city, three sites
Freedom of worship and the role of the Catholic Church in the diffusion of Baroque
Church of San Giuliano (St. Julian) on Via dei Crociferi: reconstruction
The senses tell the story of the Badia di Sant’Agata
A hall for the feasts
Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library
Two illustrious patron saints
New roads for Catania
The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation
The city of museums
A Nobel Prize in Modica
The theatre of taste
The Staircase of Angels
The façade used as a puppet theatre
Some prestigious works
The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara
Many owners, one palace
The church of Carmine
MiC – Ministero della Cultura
Legge 77/2006 - Misure Speciali di Tutela e Fruizione dei Siti Italiani di Interesse Culturale, Paesaggistico e Ambientale, inseriti nella “Lista Del Patrimonio Mondiale”, posti sotto la Tutela dell’ UNESCO Regione Siciliana.
Assessorato dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana, Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana.
Parco archeologico della Valle dei Templi di Agrigento.