Basilica della Collegiata
The Ancient Royal and Eminent Basilica Collegiate of Our Lady of the Alms, better known as Basilica della Colleggiata, is a church in Catania, Sicily, southern Italy. Finished in 1794, it is an example of Sicilian Baroque.
Façade of the Basilica
Vault frescoes in the interior
Dome fresco by Sciuti
Marble statue of a crowned Santa Agata
Sicilian Baroque is the distinctive form of Baroque architecture which evolved on the island of Sicily, off the southern coast of Italy, in the 17th and 18th centuries, when it was part of the Spanish Empire. The style is recognisable not only by its typical Baroque curves and flourishes, but also by distinctive grinning masks and putti and a particular flamboyance that has given Sicily a unique architectural identity.
Illustration 1: Sicilian Baroque. Basilica della Collegiata in Catania, designed by Stefano Ittar, c. 1768.
Illustration 2: University of Catania, designed by Vaccarini and completed by 1752, exemplifies typical Sicilian Baroque, with putti supporting the balcony, wrought iron balustrades, decorated rustication and two-tone lava masonry – a reversal of the more conventional rusticated walls and smooth pilasters
Illustration 3: A Sicilian belfry crowns Rosario Gagliardi's Church of San Giuseppe in Ragusa Ibla
Illustration 4: Messina's Porta Grazia, with its mouldings, scrolls and masks was widely copied all over Catania immediately following the quake.
