Catania

The Staircase of Angels

The most famous architectural element of the entire monastic complex is the Scala degli Angeli (staircase of the angels). The majestic main entrance leading into the church was completed in 1712 and is a characteristic example of Sicilian Baroque.
The staircase of the angels, so called because of the sculptures depicting the heavenly creatures, is made of marble stucco, a less valuable material than marble but one cleverly used to highlight the opulence of the church.
For this reason, everything outside the entrance portal of the church had to be less valuable, so as not to distract the worshippers from their prayers. With its convexity, concavity, stucco and ellipses, the staircase reflects the dynamics of Baroque architecture.
It was built to connect the church floor to street level, which was seven metres lower.
The floor composed of two-tone marble slabs is very old and stylistically in contrast to the exuberant Baroque staircase. The portal, by an unknown artist, dates back to 1708. It is entirely carved in wood, with 8 panels depicting scenes from the life of St. Benedict.

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

A unifying project for the city of Catania

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

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

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

Reconstruction after the earthquake

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The palace, the town, the church

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

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

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

Religious architecture

The Franciscan convent

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

St. Agatha and the candelore

One city, three sites

Altars, saints and sculptural works

The Benedictines’ library

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

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

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

The casket of austerity under the great dome

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

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

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

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

Luminous sacred spaces

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The Church of St. Francis

The new roads of the city

The Church of St. Benedict

Art in the cathedral

The art of maiolica

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

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

The expansion of space and changing reality

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

The city palace

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

A heritage of votive works

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

The Church of Madonna della Stella

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

City and nature

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

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

A story of rebirth

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

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

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

The interior of the church: space and colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

The interior and works of art

The church and the college

The Staircase of Angels

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The works in the church

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral

The articulated interior spaces

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

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

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

The Palazzo dei due mori

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

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

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

The Church of St. Paul

The two churches

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

A stone garden

The church and the monastery

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

The city within the city

A casket of precious works

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