Catania

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

Via dei Crociferi is a street a little more than one hundred metres long where some of Catania’s major Baroque architecture stands in a line.
Among these is the exquisite church of St. Julian, which is part of the architectural complex of the former Benedictine monastery, a prominent figure in the eventful history of this sacred building.
via dei crociferi arco di ingresso alla via  facciata chiesa frontale
Work on the new church was started by the architect Giuseppe Palazzotto in 1741. Along the road, our gaze cannot avoid dwelling on the street that emphasises the curved shape of the building’s façade. The central point of the church is a large octagonal roof, clearly visible along Via dei Crociferi near the façade of the church.
The elegant front of the religious work of architecture, decorated in white marble, is brought to life by two levels of pilasters and a loggia that hides the large dome behind in an illusory way.
particolare paraste su facciata  facciata chiesa laterale rigonfiamento prospetto
This large octagon, consisting of a compact block of lava stonework, played a prominent role in the panorama of the city before, in contemporary times, new elements were added that now decrease its visibility. There are few sculptural works on the façade, such as the two allegorical female figures above the broken tympanum of the entrance portal, the only direct entry to the church.
The two smaller doors, placed on the sides, lead to private areas of the church, the crypt and the cloistered rooms.
The upper part of the façade is animated by triforas completed by wavy and protruding grilles, from which the nuns would watch the procession of St. Agatha.
particolare portale maggiore sulle sculture femminili particolare trifore su facciata

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

Altars, saints and sculptural works

A unifying project for the city of Catania

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Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

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The Palazzo dei due mori

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

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

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

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

St. Agatha and the candelore

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

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

The two churches

The art of maiolica

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A casket of precious works

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

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Virtuosity, decorations and altars

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

The works in the church

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

The Benedictines’ library

The Church of St. Paul

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

The articulated interior spaces

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

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

One city, three sites

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

The Church of St. Benedict

A story of rebirth

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

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

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The church and the college

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

The new roads of the city

The city palace

The Franciscan convent

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

The church and the monastery

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

A stone garden

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

The interior and works of art

The Church of St. Francis

The Church of Madonna della Stella

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

The city within the city

Reconstruction after the earthquake

The casket of austerity under the great dome

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

The Staircase of Angels

Art in the cathedral

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

The interior of the church: space and colour

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

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

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

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

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

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

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

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

Religious architecture

A heritage of votive works

The palace, the town, the church

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

The expansion of space and changing reality

City and nature

Luminous sacred spaces