Experience Sicily

Tag: architecture

  • Palermo’s Theater of the People

    The revivalist architectural style of Teatro Politeama in Palermo is a late nineteenth century homage to Roman-era amphitheaters like the Colosseum. Built in the early 1870s, it recalls details of buildings uncovered in Pompeii, specifically the columned promenade and decorative frescoes throughout the theater (Excavations of Pompeii, although started slowly in 1748, were strongly underway…

  • Selinunte Temple

    The Doric-style Temple “E” at the ancient Greek site of Selinunte was completed between 490 and 480 BC. Recent research reveals that it was probably dedicated to the goddess Hera, the protectress of weddings, engaged couples, and pregnant women.

  • Sicily’s Sistine Chapel

    The Chiesa di San Domenico in Castelvetrano in Trapani Province is a masterpiece. Originally built in the 1470s when commissioned by the Tagliavia family, the church gained spectacle status once artist Antonio Ferraro da Giuliana and his sons spent three years from 1577-1580 creating the stucco scene above the altar titled “Albero di Jesse,” or…

  • Corinthian Leaves

    These columns from the Baroque facade of the Duomo on Ortigia are in the Corinthian architectural style for a reason. The city of Siracusa, with Ortigia Island as its jewel, was founded in 734 BC as a colony of Corinth, Greece. Over the subsequent centuries, Siracusa became the most important city of Magna Grecia. Corinthian…

  • Balcony in Scicli

    Balcony of Palazzo Porcelli-Battaglia-Veneziano-Sgarlata, Scicli (18th Century); From the Val di Noto, Sicily late Baroque Towns UNESCO World Heritage site.

  • Conservationists at Work

    Conservationists photographed while working in the cloisters of the Cathedral at Monreale. Each of the 228 columns of the cloister are unique, and their restoration requires painstaking detail in order to maintain the integrity of the designs from the early 1200s when the peaceful, square colonnade was constructed.

  • Enchanting Sicily, Day 13: Monumental Massimo

    LIVE from Sicily! | We spent today touring the neighborhoods of Palermo, starting here at Teatro Massimo the largest opera house in Italy and the third largest in Europe after Paris and Vienna. I want to tell you more about our excursion through the city’s lively markets, but after ending today with a private concert…

  • Uh, Luxury “Palace,” not Villa

    You might consider the Villa Romana del Casale in Piazza Armerina the “dark horse” of Sicily’s UNESCO sites. It’s not as well-known as others in Sicily, but once you have seen it, its magnificence and historical significance overshadows your memories of other sites. First off, calling it a villa is really a misnomer because it…

  • Rooms with a View

    Baroque balconies, Caltagirone.