The scenic search for the illusion of light

Introduction to the route

The proposed educational route reconstructs the main events of the history of the Val di Noto, through the study of some of the most important architectural heritage in the eight Late Baroque Towns: Catania, Militello in Val di Catania, Caltagirone, Ragusa, Modica, Scicli, Palazzolo Acreide and Noto.
A territory that on this occasion can be examined and discovered over the course of its history, between its elements of homogeneity and diversity in terms of history, art and architecture which led its inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The common threads of the route will be scenery, light and theatricality, all characteristics belonging to Sicilian Baroque.
Through this study, we will capture aspects of architecture, figurative arts, sculpture and local traditions. For example, the desire to design light structures with articulated openings that favour the infiltration of light and chiaroscuro effects on the walls, but also the preference for traditional materials, the wise and focused use of materials that demonstrated the skill of local workers, such as the use of stucco instead of marble, and painted glass instead of hard stone.
The route will allow us to understand how the territories and populations affected by the earthquake of 1693 reacted to the catastrophic event that triggered a great renovation, which, in the wake of what was happening at the time in every important artistic centre of Italy, uses means of visual communication, illusionary perspective and spectacularity to involve, amaze and communicate.
The route is wound with texts that use the five senses to uncover and relive the atmosphere of the past of the towns of the Val di Noto, recounting the colours, smells and sounds that characterised them, as well as traditional food and the materials used to construct buildings.

The casket of austerity under the great dome

Religious architecture

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

The Church of St. Paul

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The church and the college

The art of maiolica

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

A casket of precious works

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

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

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

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

Altars, saints and sculptural works

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The expansion of space and changing reality

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

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

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

The Franciscan convent

The palace, the town, the church

One city, three sites

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

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

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

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

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

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

A heritage of votive works

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

The Church of St. Benedict

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

The interior of the church: space and colour

The Staircase of Angels

Luminous sacred spaces

The Benedictines’ library

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

The city palace

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

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

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

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

The Church of St. Francis

A unifying project for the city of Catania

The two churches

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

The Church of Madonna della Stella

The works in the church

The interior and works of art

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

Art in the cathedral

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

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

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

A stone garden

The Palazzo dei due mori

City and nature

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

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

The city within the city

The eagle-shaped city

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

Reconstruction after the earthquake

The church and the monastery

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

A story of rebirth

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

St. Agatha and the candelore

The articulated interior spaces

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

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

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

The new roads of the city