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.
The senses tell the Benedictine Monastery and San NicoIò l’Arena
The interior and its masterpieces
The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)
The city of museums
A Nobel Prize in Modica
From St. Thomas to St. Joseph
The internal colours
The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci
The chocolate of Modica
Between white and black
From International Gothic to present day
The Barresi-Branciforte lords
A museum to save a tradition
Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto
The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso
The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe
An eagle-shaped city
Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?
A new site for a new city
A design by Vincenzo Sinatra
The church of Carmine
A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)
The character of Badia Sant’Agata
The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata
Norman apses
Feast days
Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town
Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom
The disastrous earthquake
The senses tell the story of the church of San Giovanni Battista
Two illustrious patron saints
The Staircase of Angels
Modica, a city with ancient origins
Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo
One city, three sites
A small room with a golden entrance
A hall for the feasts
A half-Baroque church
The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara
One city, two sites
The theatre of taste
The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento
A triumph of colour
The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto
The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation
A new site for a new church
The role of the religious orders in rebuilding the Val di Noto
St. Agatha and the giant candelabras
Some prestigious works
The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano
A talking palace
St. Sebastian, so much work!
San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church
The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara
The senses tell the Mother Church of San Nicolò and of the Santissimo Salvatore
The senses tell the story of the church of Santa Maria del Carmelo
The senses tell the story of the staircase of Santa Maria del Monte
A prominent church
Limestone, the colour of harmony
A colourful floor
Some masterpieces
Many owners, one palace
The colours of the cathedral
The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca
Church of San Giuliano (St. Julian) on Via dei Crociferi: reconstruction
The Baroque town by the sea
The wall comes to life
San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public
Searching for colour
The senses tell the story of the Badia di Sant’Agata
A new palace for the La Rocca lords
The Burgos crucifix
Connections with other UNESCO sites
The senses tell the story of the Church of San Giovanni Evangelista
Discovering the mother church
Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family
The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours
From the contrast of the exterior to the internal jubilation of colours
Feasting in Palazzolo
The senses tell the story of the Church of San Giuliano ai Crociferi
New roads for Catania
A symbol for the town
The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers
The two churches
A miniature city
Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century
The façade used as a puppet theatre
Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library
A feast only for Scicli
Freedom of worship and the role of the Catholic Church in the diffusion of Baroque
The Maiolica of the staircase
A city in colour
The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction
Wonderful quick decorations
A square as the heart of the city
A majestic and luminous church
A long reconstruction
The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe
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.