Introduction to Val di Noto

The expansion of space and changing reality

Baroque encouraged a new view of the world where reality and fiction animated the art of painting, sculpture and architecture before merging into unexpected scenic sights that roused wonder and amazement.
The anthropocentric doctrines of the Renaissance, accompanied by a static view of society, were replaced by the need to identify with a mobile universe, thanks also to the new cosmological discoveries of Nicolaus Copernicus and the advent of new trade routes that broadened horizons that were previously unknown. In Baroque, renewed demands came to life that led to today’s culture and indispensable components of contemporary town planning.
In the Val di Noto, the innovative drive of this cultural and artistic period goes beyond the aesthetic revolution promoted by it, giving importance to the urgencies of the urban architectural context of each city affected by the terrible earthquake of 1693.

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

The works in the church

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

City and nature

The Franciscan convent

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

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

The interior and works of art

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

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

The expansion of space and changing reality

The Church of St. Francis

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

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

A story of rebirth

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

The casket of austerity under the great dome

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

The Staircase of Angels

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

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

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

Art in the cathedral

The church and the monastery

The Church of St. Benedict

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

The Church of Madonna della Stella

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

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

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

The palace, the town, the church

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

The new roads of the city

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The interior of the church: space and colour

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

Altars, saints and sculptural works

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

One city, three sites

The two churches

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

Religious architecture

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

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

The Benedictines’ library

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

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

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

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

The city within the city

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

A stone garden

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

The articulated interior spaces

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The Palazzo dei due mori

A unifying project for the city of Catania

The city palace

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

The art of maiolica

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

A heritage of votive works

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

Luminous sacred spaces

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

A casket of precious works

The eagle-shaped city

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

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

The Church of St. Paul

St. Agatha and the candelore

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

Reconstruction after the earthquake

The church and the college

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

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

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

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

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family