Caltagirone

The representative elements of the Church of San Francesco d’Assisi all’Immacolata

One of the elements that characterises the majestic church of San Francesco d’Assisi all’Immacolata is the dome, crowned by glazed terracotta spheres and divided into eight sections that house large windows.
The dome was left unfinished due to a tragic collapse in 1702 during works to complete it.
In fact, it does not have a segmental dome, i.e. the hemisphere that makes up the dome, or a skylight, the element used to let light into the dome. Another element of great value is the bell tower built in 1852 by Caltagirone architect Salvatore Marino, which stands slenderly next to the dome.
cappella del seminario  foto del campanile e cupola
Its shape and finishes were designed to match the ornamental richness of the façade. In addition, a cusp was designed, a pointed ornamental structure in turn surmounted by a tall steeple, an architectural element with an elongated, thin profile that, together with the cusp creates the illusion of the bell tower extending further up to the sky.
The bell tower is so elegant that it inspired the architect Ugo Tarchi who, in 1954, designed the bell tower of the Cathedral of San Giuliano nearby the church of San Francesco D’Assisi.
There are some very valuable objects inside the church. These include numerous paintings by the Vaccaro brothers, a silver-covered wooden statue from 1677 depicting St. Anthony, and a large maiolica panel by Antonio Ragona, depicting the nativity with St. Francis.

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A unifying project for the city of Catania

The Palazzo dei due mori

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

The Church of St. Benedict

One city, three sites

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

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

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

The interior and works of art

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

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

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

The articulated interior spaces

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

The palace, the town, the church

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

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

The new roads of the city

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

The art of maiolica

The eagle-shaped city

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

City and nature

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

Luminous sacred spaces

The Church of Madonna della Stella

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

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

The Church of St. Paul

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

A story of rebirth

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

The expansion of space and changing reality

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

The Benedictines’ library

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

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

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

The Church of St. Francis

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The church and the college

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

The Franciscan convent

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

The casket of austerity under the great dome

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

A casket of precious works

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

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

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 senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

A stone garden

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

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

Reconstruction after the earthquake

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

The city palace

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

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

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

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

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

A heritage of votive works

The city within the city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

Art in the cathedral

St. Agatha and the candelore

The works in the church

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

Religious architecture

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

The church and the monastery

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

The two churches

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

Altars, saints and sculptural works

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

The interior of the church: space and colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

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