Caltagirone

The cloister of St. Francis

The convent’s cloister is the place around which the life of the friars was organised.
frontale arcate, finestre e pozzoSpecifically, the cloister of St. Francis reflects the spirit of poverty of the family of mendicant friars in its sober and rigorous appearance.
After suffering the disastrous earthquake of 1693 and the bombardments of 1943, it was rebuilt according to the Late Renaissance style of the time, recognisable in the essential lines of the interior elevations, outlined by sixteen windows and four balconies, framed by Ionic pilasters , which overlook the square space.
The area is marked by twenty-four monolithic columns whose purity of lines is interrupted only at the arcades, decorated with grotesque masks in the centre of the arch. The arcades are one of the few elements that create a pattern inside the cloister, giving multiple perspectives.
colonne Del chiostro balcone centrale
paraste nel chiostro
The essential nature is also found in the sober use of materials such as stone for the arcades and columns, and in the decorative details arranged on the wall made with a neutral coloured plaster.
Inside, there is a stone well and a lush green lawn with four palm trees, planted during the 1937 restoration.
This space steeped in history has two entrances: a more modern one, in a floral style, which dates back to the 20th century, with the commissioner’s coat of arms. The other, older one is located near the chapel and has the Franciscan emblem in the lunette.
stemma francescano emblema committenza
The cloister reveals the few traces of the medieval convent with its ogival stone portal, which, unfortunately was remodelled at the top with the insertion of an elliptical window in Late Renaissance style.
portale antico di destra

The Palazzo dei due mori

The palace, the town, the church

Reconstruction after the earthquake

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

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

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The two churches

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

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

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

A story of rebirth

The art of maiolica

Art in the cathedral

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

The works in the church

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

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

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

The Church of St. Francis

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

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

The casket of austerity under the great dome

The interior of the church: space and colour

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

The Staircase of Angels

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

The expansion of space and changing reality

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

Luminous sacred spaces

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

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

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

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

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

The Church of St. Paul

The eagle-shaped city

The interior and works of art

The articulated interior spaces

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

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

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

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

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

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

A stone garden

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

The church and the college

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

A unifying project for the city of Catania

The new roads of the city

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

St. Agatha and the candelore

The Church of St. Benedict

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

The Church of Madonna della Stella

The city palace

A casket of precious works

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

Altars, saints and sculptural works

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

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

The Franciscan convent

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

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

The church and the monastery

City and nature

The city within the city

Religious architecture

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

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

One city, three sites

A heritage of votive works

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

The Benedictines’ library

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano