Catania

The Church of St. Benedict

The façade of the church was built, during an initial phase, by the architect Alonzo di Benedetto from Catania and later enriched and completed by the portal created by the architect Vaccarini .
scalinata dal basso verso l'alto portale scolpito in legno
The building’s façade is characterised by a strong three-dimensionality, especially in the first level, set out by the articulation of the four columns that seem to project from the façade, increasing its size.
materiale da cui è composta, stucco marmorino
The trabeation and the broken tympanum are also impressive and the highly pronounced dentils emphasise the chiaroscuro effect.
dettaglio statue angeli
The church entrance is preceded by an elegant vestibule with a staircase leading to the only internal nave illuminated by light from six large windows on the vault and light radiating from sumptuous candlesticks.
The floor, dating back to the late 17th century, is in polychrome marble and was recovered from the ruins of the earthquake. As you look upwards, your gaze is entranced by one of the most scenic vaults of Sicilian Baroque, frescoed by the Messina-born painter Giovanni Tuccari between 1726 and 1729. The vault is divided into three sections: the right side depicting scenes from the life of St. Benedict of Nursia, the left side and the central frescoes.
The central part of each window features elements called lunettes, also frescoed with female figures.
The rich central altar was executed between 1792 and 1795 and is composed of precious hard stones, such as Sicilian jasper, considered one of the most valuable materials used in the Baroque period, while the other details are in stamp silver and pure Venetian gold.

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Altars, saints and sculptural works

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

The expansion of space and changing reality

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

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

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

The art of maiolica

The interior of the church: space and colour

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

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

Reconstruction after the earthquake

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

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

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

The Church of Madonna della Stella

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

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

The works in the church

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

Art in the cathedral

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

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

The articulated interior spaces

The interior and works of art

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

A story of rebirth

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

The Benedictines’ library

The Franciscan convent

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

A heritage of votive works

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

The city palace

The Church of St. Paul

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

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

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

The Staircase of Angels

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

The two churches

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

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

Religious architecture

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

The palace, the town, the church

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

St. Agatha and the candelore

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The new roads of the city

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

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

The church and the college

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

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

City and nature

The casket of austerity under the great dome

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

The Church of St. Francis

A casket of precious works

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

The Palazzo dei due mori

The city within the city

The church and the monastery

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

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

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

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

The eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

A stone garden

The Church of St. Benedict

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

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

A unifying project for the city of Catania

One city, three sites

Luminous sacred spaces