Noto and Late Baroque of South-Eastern Sicily
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NOTO AND LATE BAROQUE OF SOUTH-EASTERN SICILY Proposal for inscription WORLD HERITAGE LIST UNESCO Noto and late Baroque of South-Eastern Sicily proposal for inscription WORLD HERITAGE LIST-UNESCO Editorial staff International Baroque Research Institute (CISB) With the assistance of Municipal Administrators of: CALTAGIRONE CATANIA MILITELLO IN VAL DI CATANIA MODICA NOTO PALAZZOLO ACREIDE RAGUSA SCICLI LOCAL OFFICIES OF BB.CC.AA. REGION ASSESSOSHIP Coordination Siracusa BB.CC.AA. Superintendence Enclosure cards Caltagirone by the Municipal Technical office of Caltagirone Catania, Noto, Ragusa, Scicli by CISB Militello in Val di Catania by the Municipal technical office of MilitelloV. C. Modica by the Municipal technical office of Modica Palazzolo Acreide by the Municipal technical office of Palazzolo A. Cover: Infelicis Regni Siciliae.Tabula in tres Valles Divisa. 1693 2 Noto and late Baroque of South-Eastern Sicily CONTENT 1. Identification of the Property……..……………………….. 5 2. Justificationfor Inscription………...……………………….29 3. Description……………………….……..…………………43 4. Management……………………………………………….73 5. Factors affecting the Site………………..…………………89 6. Monitoring………......…………………………..…………94 7. Documentation………………...…………………………..95 3 Noto and late Baroque of South-Eastern Sicily Exact location of area 4 Noto and late Baroque of South-Eastern Sicily 1. Identification of the Property a. Country (and Sta- ate Party if differ- ent) Italia b. State, Province or Region Region: Sicily Provinces: Catania, Ragusa, Siracusa c. Name of proper- ty Noto and late Baroque of South-Eastern Sicily d. Exact location on map and indica- tion of geographi- cal coordinates to the nearest sec- ond long. 14°42'22" - 15°5'13" lat. 36°47'35" - 37°30'8" e. Maps and / or plans showing boundary of area proposed for in- scription and of any buffer zone 1) Sicily - Exact location of Urban Areas proposed for inscription in the World Heritage List. 2) Caltagirone - Exact location of Urban Area - Scale 1:50.000 3) Caltagirone - Boundary of the Urban area proposed for inscription in the World Heritage List. - Scale 1:5000. 4) Catania - Exact location of Urban Area - Scale 1:100.000. 5) Catania - Boundary of the Urban area proposed for inscription in the World Heritage List. - Scale 1:10.000. 6) Militello in Val di Catania - Exact location of Urban Area - Scale 1:50.000. 7) Militello in Val di Catania - Boundary of the Urban area proposed for inscription in the World Heritage List. - Scale 1:10.000. 8) Modica - Exact location of Urban Area - Scale 1:100.000. 9) Modica - Boundary of the Urban area proposed for inscription in the World Heritage List. - Scale 1:5.000. 5 Noto and late Baroque of South-Eastern Sicily 10) Noto - Exact location of Urban Area - Scale 1:100.000. 11) Noto- Boundary of the Urban area proposed for inscription in the World Heritage List. - Scale 1:5.000. 12) Palazzolo Acreide - Exact location of Urban Area - Scale 1:50.000. 13) Palazzolo Acreide - Boundary of the Urban area proposed for inscription in the World Heritage List. - Scale 1:5.000. 14) Ragusa - Exact location of Urban Area - Scale 1:100.000. 15) Ragusa - Boundary of the Urban area proposed for inscription in the World Heritage List. - Scale 1:10.000. 16) Scicli - Exact location of Urban Area - Scale 1:250.000. 17) Scicli - Boundary of the Urban area proposed for inscription in the World Heritage List. - Scale 1:2.000. f. Area of site pro- posed for inscription (ha.) and proposed buffer zone (ha.) if any The site proposed for inscription is on the whole Ha 264.76, in area, subdivid- ed amongst The variouse cities. Cross - reference: 1.f to get the exact measure of the areas of each city. 6 Noto and late Baroque of South-Eastern Sicily Sicily Boundary of Urban Area for inscription in the World Heritage List 7 Noto and late Baroque of South-Eastern Sicily Caltagirone Off-print from town-planning Scala 1:50.000 8 Noto and late Baroque of South-Eastern Sicily Caltagirone Boundary of urban area for inscription in the World Heritage List - Scale 1:5.000 10 Noto and late Baroque of South-Eastern Sicily Catania Boundary of the Urban Area Scale 1:100.000 11 Noto and late Baroque of South-Eastern Sicily Catania- Boundary of the Urban area for inscription in the World Heritage List - Scale 1:10.000 12 Noto and late Baroque of South-Eastern Sicily Militello in Val diCatania - Boundary of the Urban area - Scala 1:50.000 13 Noto and late Baroque of South-Eastern Sicily Militello in Val di Catania Boundary of the Urban area for inscription in the World Heritage List 14 Noto and late Baroque of South-Eastern Sicily Modica Boundary of the Urban area Scale 1:100.000 15 Noto and late Baroque of South-Eastern Sicily Modica Boundary of the Urban area for inscription in the World Heritage List 17 Noto and late Baroque of South-Eastern Sicily Noto Boundary of the Urban area Scale 1:100.000 18 Noto and late Baroque of South-Eastern Sicily Noto Boundary of the Urban area for inscription in the World Heritage List 20 Noto and late Baroque of South-Eastern Sicily Palazzolo Acreide 21 Noto and late Baroque of South-Eastern Sicily Palazzolo Acreide Boundary of the Urban area for inscription in the World Heritage List 23 Noto and late Baroque of South-Eastern Sicily Ragusa Boundary of the Urban area Scale 1:100.000 24 Noto and late Baroque of South-Eastern Sicily Ragusa Boundary of the Urban area for inscription in the World Heritage List 26 Noto and late Baroque of South-Eastern Sicily Scicli Boundary of the Urban area Scale 1:250.000 27 Noto and late Baroque of South-Eastern Sicily Scicli Boundary of the Urban area for inscription in the World Heritage List 28 Noto and late Baroque of South-Eastern Sicily 2.Justification for Inscription a.Statement of sig- nificance The territory of south-eastern Sicily, once territority of the ancient province Val di Noto, is a remarkable world inheritance for the great qual- ity and extraordinay homogeneity of the urbanistic inheritance rich in late baroque landmarks. These spread particularly after the 1963 earthquake that seriusly destroyed about 60 cties in that context. The sensible seisnic area, which had its epicentre in the Valley of Noto with a major destroying result, streaches from Calabria to Malta till the northen African coast. Most cities of south-eastern Sicily were rebuilt in the original site. Amongst them: Catania; some, like Noto, in sites different from the original; others: Ragusa and Palazzolo Acreide were subdivided and new urban centres were created next to the ancient ones; others either slided towards near areas partially already urbanized: ex. Scicli and Modica or repaired: Caltagirone , etc. The rebuilding of 'Val di Noto' was a chance to an enormouse artistic, architectonical and anti-seismic renewal of the cities, medieval in their styles till 1693, the date of the eartquake. The earthquake freed so many energies and money in the same time that bold and impressive urbanistic changes were realized. All of them in the south - eastern Sicily are a unicum in the panorama of World baroque with a cluster of rebuilt or repaired cities in the same shared time and models. After the planning culture, sprung in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, most architecture and 'modern' town-planning of south-eastern Sicily become the first specific response to seismic disaster. Very many are the creators and makers of the baroque appearance of so many cities rebuilt or refounded: archi- tects, engineers, master masons, and lots of variously skilled craftsman (lapidum incisores, decorators, plaster- ers, etc.), little known or rather anonymous till nowa- days; these craftsmen with their variety of specializa- tions contributed in the building renewal as much as the more famous architects,.Outstanding figure is Rosario Gagliardi, master 'of the Valley of Noto and of his valley', perhaps the most original, creative and free of the architects in the Sicilian eighteenth century. His religious erecting yards in the valley of Noto witness the ripening of a complex planning that concerns both boundary system(ex. 'San Domenico' in Noto) and facades. Gagliardi is a renown master of the tower facade in the Sicilian style (it The right: “Sicilia afflicta”. Medal coined in develops in highness and absorbs the bell-tower); this peculiarity draws him memory of the earthquake of to Austrian artists' such as Fisher Von Erlach, LUCAS VON HILDE- 1693. 29 Noto and late Baroque of South-Eastern Sicily 30 Noto and late Baroque of South-Eastern Sicily BRANDT and others working in Germany. The facade model developing in highness, has been extraordinary lucky in the 'Val di Noto, has made undoubtly the holy landscape of the Hibley particular and has advanced like a new sign and new visual realization of the site (ex San Giorgio in Reg. Iblea or San Giorgio in Modica). In the area of Catania the other well- known protagonist is Giovan Battista Vaccarini whose expressive style mir- rors a major influence from baroque classicism and the official Roman cul- ture he was bound to since the years of his training and accomplishment at St. Luca's Academy; he created something new after the first baroque directly seen and studied. With his choices he has determined the essence and stylistic homogeneity of the buildings in Catania after 1693 inflating the excitement of baroque scenography in the urban area. His arrange- ments and facades (in the typical 'giganti' order with its matching different materials: calcareous stone and lavic stone) are planned like 'scenes' facing the street or the square. The great town-planning civilization of after earth- quake shows how high architectural solutions are given thanks to the strong incomparable economic interplay of different social groups.