Modica

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

The interior of the church is clearly different to the austere exterior.ingresso verso abside
Though the architectural forms are more sober than in other Baroque churches, the decorations are sumptuous and cover the entire surface of the intradoses of the vaults, concentrated in the apse area.
dettaglio colonna marmo verdeThe interior space is divided into three naves marked by fourteen columns with Corinthian capitals and arcades leading to the apse, the central point of the church.
The vault of the central nave is decorated with sixteen painted medallions and frescoes depicting stories from the Old Testament by Gian Battista and Stefano Ragazzi, completed in 1780.
dett pavimentoThe side naves are defined by niches and altars luxuriously decorated with precious materials and separated by coupled columns , some in marble, others decorated in stucco. A pleasant lighting effect is created in this area thanks to the soft light entering from the lunette windows, which are also decorated on the inside.
The 1864 floor is made up of polychrome marble, white marble and black pietra pece where geometric designs and curvilinear decorations alternate with those of the vault. Also in this case, the different use of polished and opaque materials causes light to be reflected in different ways, thus creating multiple perceptions of the room in a continuous play of illusory effects.

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

Religious architecture

The church and the college

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

A heritage of votive works

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

City and nature

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

A stone garden

Reconstruction after the earthquake

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

The articulated interior spaces

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

The works in the church

St. Agatha and the candelore

The eagle-shaped city

Luminous sacred spaces

Art in the cathedral

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

A unifying project for the city of Catania

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

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

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

The Church of St. Benedict

A story of rebirth

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

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

The Franciscan convent

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The art of maiolica

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

The city palace

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

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

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

The palace, the town, the church

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

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

The Church of St. Francis

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

The casket of austerity under the great dome

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

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 Staircase of Angels

The interior of the church: space and colour

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

The city within the city

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

The interior and works of art

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

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

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

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

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

The two churches

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

The Benedictines’ library

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

The Palazzo dei due mori

Altars, saints and sculptural works

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

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

The Church of St. Paul

The expansion of space and changing reality

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

One city, three sites

The church and the monastery

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

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

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

The Church of Madonna della Stella

A casket of precious works

The new roads of the city

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

A Nobel Prize in Modica