Angelo Italia - architect

The Chiesa Madre in Palma di Montechiaro
  had similarities with Noto cathedral 

Friar who advanced development of Sicilian Baroque

The architect and Jesuit friar Angelo Italia, who was an important protagonist in the development of Sicilian Baroque as an architectural style, was born on this day in 1628 in Licata, a town on the southern coast of Sicily, about 45km (28 miles) east of Agrigento. 

In later life, Italia was one of the architects commissioned to work on the rebuilding of cities in the south-eastern corner of the island, following the devastating earthquake of 1693. 

He was particularly influential in the design of the reconstructed cities of Avola and Noto, where the beauty of the architecture still attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year.

Individual buildings attributed to Italia include the Chiesa di San Francesco Saverio in Palermo, the Chapel of the Crucifix in the cathedral at Monreale, and the Chiesa Madre Maria Santissima del Rosario in Palma di Montechiaro, not far from Licata, with a facade flanked by two bell towers, at the top of a long, scenic staircase, similar to that which characterises the impressive cathedral in Noto.

He became a Jesuit friar in 1671 and resided in the Jesuit College in Palermo, where he died in 1700 a few days before what would have been his 72nd birthday.

Italia’s background is not documented with certainty but his father, Francesco, is thought to have been a master bricklayer and contractor in Licata, where Angelo likely began his career as a stonemason before beginning to take on design projects.

The design of the church of San Francesco Saverio
in Palermo is attributed to Angelo Italia 

Much of his work was influenced by where his Jesuit calling took him. For example, he spent his novitiate in Messina, between 1671 and 1672, which probably explains why his work was heavily influenced by that of Guarino Guarini, an architect from Modena who is remembered as one of the most important exponents of Piedmontese Baroque, but who spent several years in Messina and designed a number of notable buildings.

Some architectural historians believe elements of Italia’s work point to him having spent some time in Rome, suggesting detailed knowledge of the works of Francesco Borromini and Girolamo Rinaldi, who were both contemporaries, can only have been acquired by having travelled to the city, although no evidence has been uncovered that he did.

Before he joined the Jesuit order, Italia is thought to have worked primarily with his father around Licata. Stylistic elements of the church of Sant'Angelo Carmelitano in Licata, especially the facade, suggests that this may have been his debut project in around 1653.

After he entered the order, he would primarily have worked in the service of the order, as was customary. His projects in Palermo at that time included the churches of San Francesco Saverio and Del Gesù, the second of which was destroyed in World War Two.

The cathedral at Noto, where Italia was
closely involved in reconstruction work

It is thought that he subsequently moved to various locations in Sicily, at the request of local Jesuit headquarters, including in Mazzara, Mazzarino and Polizzi. He also accepted a commission from Carlo Carafa Branciforte, Prince of Butera, for the construction of the church of Santa Maria della Neve in Mazzarino .

After the earthquake of 1693 that flattened large areas of south-eastern Sicily, destroying or severely damaging at least 70 towns and cities, including Catania, Siracusa, Noto and Acireale, Italia was among many architects called upon to assist in the reconstruction.  Italia worked primarily in Avola, Lentini and Carlentini, and Noto.

In Avola, while he left the building work to others, Italia designed a grid of streets within a hexagonal square, with walls, bastions and moats, although these no longer exist. He also moved to city from its original location to a flat area nearer to the sea.

His designs for Lentini and Carlentini, two neighbouring towns between Catania and Siracusa, also involved relocating the towns from their original sites. The relocation was rejected and although new urban areas were built on the original sites, the expense involved dwarfed Italia’s original plan.

Italia’s involvement in the Noto project is unclear, with other architects and engineers given credit for different elements, but it seems to be accepted that moving the city from its original location to another 8km (5 miles) away was Italia’s suggestion, as was following an urban plan based on Palma di Montechiaro. 

Sandy beaches and rocky coves are a feature of
the coastline around Licata 

Travel tip:

Licata, where Angelo Italia was born, is a seaside resort and an important port situated on the southern coast of Sicily between  Agrigento and Gela. Some 20km of seafront, a mix of sand and pebble beaches and reefs to the west, is a major pull for tourists but the town also has much history, having been at times under the control of the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Arabs, the Saracens, the Normans, the Turks, the Spanish and the French. Current attractions include the Castel Sant’Angelo, built by the Spanish, and the remains of an ancient Greek acropolis. The main church is Santa Maria La Nova, built in the 15th century, and there are several interesting Liberty-style buildings including the Palazzo di Città, designed by Ernesto Basile, the Teatro Re Grillo and the Parco delle Ville Liberty.

The Castello di Montechiaro is now a sanctuary
dedicated to the Madonna del Castello

Travel tip:

Built on a hill overlooking a valley, which stretches down to the sea, Palma di Montechiaro enjoyed some fame as a fiefdom of Donnafugata in the novel The Leopard. The village is renowned for its mother church, Chiesa Madre Maria Santissima del Rosario in Palma di Montechiaro, which Italia designed and is considered to be among the most iconic examples of Sicilian Baroque architecture. Also notable are the Ducal Palace, a Benedictine Monastery and the Castello di Montechiaro, now a sanctuary dedicated to the Madonna del Castello, and Torre San Carlo, a four-sided tower on a base shaped like a truncated pyramid.   The Chiesa Madre, designed by Angelo Italia, bears many similarities with the cathedral at Noto, which was part of Italia’s plans for the reconstruction of that city after the earthquake of 1693.

Also on this day:

1587: The birth of Victor Amadeus I of Savoy

1639: The birth of painter Giovanni Battista Gaulli

1898: Italy’s first football championship

1960: The birth of footballer Franco Baresi

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The Arab conquest of Sicily

A painting depicting a ninth century Arab ship
of the kind that would have invaded Sicily

Fall of Taormina put island in Muslim control

The Arab conquest of Sicily, which began in 827, was completed on this day in 902 with the fall of Taormina, the city in the northeast of the island that was the last stronghold of the Byzantine Empire, which had been in control for more than 350 years.

The island had been coveted by powers around the Mediterranean for centuries and raids by Saracens, as the Muslim Arabs from Roman Arabia became known, had been taking place since the mid-7th century without threatening to make substantial territorial gains.

However, in 827 the commander of the island's fleet, Euphemius, led a revolt against Michael II, the Byzantine Emperor, and when he and his supporters were at first driven from the island by forces loyal to Michael II, he turned to the Aghlabids, the rulers of Ifriqiya, the area of north Africa now known as Tunisia, for help.

The Aghlabids saw this as a strategic opportunity too good to miss and, with Euphemius’s forces to supplement their own, completed a successful landing on the southern coast and began to establish fortresses.

Gustave Léon Schlumberger's 1890 illustration
of the Saracen army on the move in Sicily 

An attempt to capture Syracuse, which was then the capital, was beaten back, but when they turned their attention to Palermo it was a different story. With reinforcements from the Muslim area of southern Spain they captured the western city in 831 and made it the capital of a new Muslim province on the island.

Over the next three decades, they were able to claim more and more parts of the island, taking advantage of the Byzantine preoccupation with defending other frontiers from Arab attack.  They took the important stronghold of Enna in the centre of the island in 859 and made a successful second assault on Syracuse, which fell in 878 following a long siege.  Byzantine resistance held onto territories in the northwest for the next two decades, while the effectiveness of the invaders was undermined by a conflict between rival Muslim groups.

After the rebel Muslims had been suppressed, however, territorial advances gathered pace again and in 902 the Aghlabid leader, Emir Ibrahim II, laid siege to Taormina and claimed victory on August 1, after which the remaining Byzantine fortresses quickly capitulated.

Sicily then enjoyed a period of prosperity lasting 250 years, during which time a population of Christians and Muslims brought about important cultural, economic and social reforms, until the island was captured again in 1061, this time by the Norman invaders from northern Europe.

Arab rule in Sicily actually changed hands three times as the Aghlabid, the Fatimid, and then the Kalbid dynasties assumed control. In 948 Hassan al-Kalbi declared himself Emir of Sicily.

The Church of San Cataldo in Palermo is an example
of the fusion of architectural stars

Although there are a number of pockets of Muslim populations in Sicily today, there are few physical remnants of Arab rule. Few Arabic buildings remain, although the Normans used Arabic architects on a number of projects, as is evidenced by the red domes of the Church of San Cataldo and the Saracen arches in the Cappella Palatina.

But the legacy of the period is visible on the map in the form of Val di Mazara, Val di Noto and Val di Demone, three areas of Sicily that reflect the names three administrative districts into which the Arab rulers divided the island. Val is thought to derive from the Arabic word wilayah, meaning province, rather than the Italian word for valley.

Some place names have Arabic roots also, such as the many towns and villages whose names begin with calta, meaning castle, such as the central town of Caltanissetta, or which include gibil, meaning mountain, as in Mongibello, which is an alternative name for Mount Etna.

And Sicilian cuisine owes much to the Arabs introducing almonds, apricots, artichokes, cinnamon, oranges, pine kernels, raisins, saffron, spinach and watermelon to the country’s diet, among other things.  The famous Sicilian dessert cassata, which traditionally contains sweetened ricotta cheese, takes its name from qashata - the Arabic word for cheese.

Saracen arches decorated with Byzantine
Mosaics inside the Cappella Palatina

Travel tip:

The Cappella Palatina - Palatine Chapel - is the royal chapel of the Norman kings of Sicily within the Palazzo Reale in Palermo.  Commissioned by Roger II of Sicily in 1132, it took eight years to build. The chapel combines several architectural styles. The overall design is Norman, yet it features six pointed arches of Arabic style and eight-pointed stars of Muslim tradition are arranged on the ceiling in the shape of a Christian cross. The dome and mosaics are Byzantine, the mosaics among the most elegant in Italy.

The Cathedral of San Nicoló in Noto, one of many cities in
southeast Sicily rich in Baroque architecture

Travel tip:

Val di Noto is an historical and geographical area encompassing the southeastern third of Sicily.  The first known settlement in the area was the ancient town of Akrai, near the present-day town of Palazzolo Acreide, which dates back to 664BC. The area nowadays is known for its wealth of Sicilian Baroque architecture, the result of a lavish rebuilding programme instigated by the Spanish rulers following the massive earthquake of 1693. Churches, cloisters and palaces were built along streets radiating out from a central square in what in many cases were virtually new towns and cities in their entirety.  Such is the architectural splendour of these towns and cities that Caltagirone, Militello in Val di Catania, Catania, Modica, Noto, Palazzolo Acreide, Ragusa, and Scicli are all UNESCO World Heritage sites.

More reading:

How the Sicilians threw out the French in 1282

The Sicilian earthquake of 1693

Pietro Novelli, the Sicilian artist killed in a riot

Also on this day:

1464: The death of Cosimo, founder of the Medici banking dynasty

1776: The birth of Francesca Scanagatta, the girl who dressed up as a man to join Austrian 
army

1831: The birth of operatic baritone Antonio Cotogni


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