Introduction to Val di Noto

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

Baroque was born and developed in a historical period worn out by the conflicts between the Catholic Counter-Reformation and Protestantism that led to the Thirty Years’ War, a scene of blood and death in Europe.
With the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, freedom of worship was approved for the three main faiths (Protestant, Calvinist and Catholic), despite the fact that the major European powers involved in the conflict sought the undisputed dominance of one religion.
The Catholic Church had a decisive role in spreading Baroque, which was used as a propaganda tool against the rampant forms of Protestantism and heresy.
The strong scenographic impact and monumental dimension involved in all art forms from this period, interpreted the idea of centrality and greatness of spiritual power used to convince worshippers.

Luminous sacred spaces

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

The Church of St. Paul

The Church of St. Benedict

The articulated interior spaces

The two churches

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

A stone garden

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

A heritage of votive works

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

The art of maiolica

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

Altars, saints and sculptural works

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

The casket of austerity under the great dome

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

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

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

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

Reconstruction after the earthquake

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

The church and the monastery

The interior and works of art

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

The new roads of the city

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

The Staircase of Angels

A unifying project for the city of Catania

A story of rebirth

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Benedictines’ library

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

One city, three sites

The church and the college

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

The works in the church

The Church of Madonna della Stella

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

The city palace

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

City and nature

Art in the cathedral

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

The Church of St. Francis

The city within the city

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

St. Agatha and the candelore

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

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

The interior of the church: space and colour

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

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

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

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

The eagle-shaped city

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

The Franciscan convent

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

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

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

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

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

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A casket of precious works

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

Religious architecture

The palace, the town, the church

The expansion of space and changing reality

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

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

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

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

The Palazzo dei due mori

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix