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

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

The interior and works of art

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

The articulated interior spaces

The art of maiolica

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Religious architecture

The Franciscan convent

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

St. Agatha and the candelore

City and nature

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

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

Altars, saints and sculptural works

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

The city palace

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

The Church of Madonna della Stella

The Church of St. Paul

The Church of St. Benedict

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

The new roads of the city

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

The city within the city

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

The eagle-shaped city

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

Reconstruction after the earthquake

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

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

The Church of St. Francis

The palace, the town, the church

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

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

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

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

Luminous sacred spaces

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Art in the cathedral

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

A stone garden

The interior of the church: space and colour

One city, three sites

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

The casket of austerity under the great dome

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

The expansion of space and changing reality

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

The church and the college

The Staircase of Angels

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

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

A story of rebirth

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

The works in the church

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

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

The Palazzo dei due mori

The Benedictines’ library

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

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

A casket of precious works

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

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

The church and the monastery

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

The two churches

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

A unifying project for the city of Catania

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

A heritage of votive works

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

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

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape