The Baroque Architecture of Sicily

£48.00
£48.00

Sicilian Baroque architecture was open to the whole world of European Baroque and yet stubbornly protective of its own unique identity

Sicilian Baroque architecture was open to the whole world of European Baroque and yet stubbornly protective of its own unique identity.

Sicilian Baroque was once described by Anthony Blunt as the style ‘in which the energy and imagination of the south attained full and mature expression’. This volume superbly affirms that this era in the island’s history was a crucial phase in Western civilization.

Through analysis and above all by revelatory photography it seeks to define what makes the Baroque of Sicily distinctive:

• How does it differ from the Baroque not only of other countries but also from that of other Italian regions?

• How was it possible to impose that particular character upon churches and palaces, sculpture and painting?

• What was the role of ‘capital’ cities such as Palermo and Catania, and smaller towns like Noto?

• To what extent did it absorb styles from abroad, both through travel and through pictures and treatises?

• How decisive was that Sicilian speciality, the earthquake, as a factor in change and renewal?
Extent: 288 pp
Format: Hardback
Illustrations: 272
Publication date: 2007-10-22
Size: 32.5 x 27.0 cm
ISBN: 9780500342398
A Journey Through Sicilian Baroque • The Places: Pre-existing and New Plans • The Protagonists: Master Architects • The Works: Tradition and Revolution • Theory and Practice • The Thousand Faces of Baroque • Bibliography

Press Reviews

Made to look irresistibly attractive by the superb photography of Melo Minnella … it should at the very least quicken new interest in the style and the place, while at the same time deepening the understanding of both among existing aficionados
The World of Interiors

An extremely handsome and lavish large-format production, beautifully illustrated
Apollo

… made to look irresistibly attractive by the superb photography of Melo Minnella … it should at the very least quicken new interest in the style and the place, while at the same time deepening the understanding of both among existing aficionados
The World of Interiors


About the Author

Mario Giuffrè is a professor at the School of Architecture, Palermo University.

Melo Minnella has photographed Sicily’s artistic and cultural heritage for many years, and has published several books on the subject.

You May Also Like

View more