Caltagirone

The eagle-shaped city

The city of Caltagirone has very ancient origins; the first traces of settlements date back to the Neolithic age. Thanks to its strategic position on the fertile plain of the Hyblaean mountains, it became a destination for the Normans and the Greeks and Romans before them.
The city, which has always been very active, began its urban renewal even before the catastrophic earthquake of 1693. At the end of the 16th century the city was expanding.
The mother church and the castle were the focal point of the city, but with the construction of new districts it was necessary to build specific connecting roads.
In this way, roads were inserted to connect the area of San Giorgio with that of San Giacomo from east to west, and from north to south between the mother church and the southern quarter.
It was during this time that the extraordinary Scalinata di Santa Maria del Monte (Staircase of St. Mary of the Mountain) and the bridge of San Francesco were built, both highly coveted by the Franciscans. Seen from above, the town’s new configuration was shaped like an eagle: the head was the former castle, the wings the quarters of San Giacomo and San Giorgio, and the tail the quarter of San Francesco.
aerea con drone

The Church of St. Paul

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

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

The Benedictines’ library

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

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

The church and the monastery

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

A casket of precious works

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

The Church of St. Benedict

The church and the college

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

The articulated interior spaces

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

The works in the church

The Palazzo dei due mori

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

One city, three sites

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

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

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

Religious architecture

City and nature

The city within the city

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

The interior of the church: space and colour

The casket of austerity under the great dome

The eagle-shaped city

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

The Franciscan convent

Art in the cathedral

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

A heritage of votive works

A stone garden

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

The Church of Madonna della Stella

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

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

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

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

The expansion of space and changing reality

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

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

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

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

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

The Staircase of Angels

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

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

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

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

The Church of St. Francis

The new roads of the city

Reconstruction after the earthquake

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

The art of maiolica

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

Luminous sacred spaces

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

The two churches

A story of rebirth

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

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

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

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

Altars, saints and sculptural works

The interior and works of art

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

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

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

The palace, the town, the church

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

The city palace

A unifying project for the city of Catania

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

St. Agatha and the candelore

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata