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 illusion of light and the decorative splendour

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

Luminous sacred spaces

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

St. Agatha and the candelore

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

Reconstruction after the earthquake

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

The church and the monastery

The interior of the church: space and colour

The Franciscan convent

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

Religious architecture

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

The new roads of the city

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

Art in the cathedral

A story of rebirth

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

The city within the city

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

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

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

One city, three sites

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

A unifying project for the city of Catania

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

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

The palace, the town, the church

The Church of Madonna della Stella

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

The articulated interior spaces

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

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

The interior and works of art

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

Altars, saints and sculptural works

The church and the college

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The Benedictines’ library

A stone garden

The city palace

A heritage of votive works

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Staircase of Angels

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

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

City and nature

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

The casket of austerity under the great dome

The two churches

The Church of St. Paul

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

The Church of St. Benedict

The art of maiolica

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

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

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

A casket of precious works

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The expansion of space and changing reality

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

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

The Palazzo dei due mori

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

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

The eagle-shaped city

The works in the church

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

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

The Church of St. Francis

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

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

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