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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Giovanni Battista Vaccarini - architect

Sicilian Baroque designs shaped the look of Catania

Vaccarini's Fontana dell'Elefante has
become the symbol of Catania

Giovanni Battista Vaccarini, the architect who designed many of the important buildings in Sicily’s second city of Catania, was born on this day in 1702 in Palermo.

He was responsible for several palaces, including the Palazzo del Municipio, the Palazzo San Giuliano and the Palazzo dell’Università.  He completed the rebuilding of a number of churches, including the Chiesa della Badia di Sant’Agata, and designed the Baroque façade of the city’s Duomo – the Cattedrale di Sant’Agata – which had been a ruin.

Perhaps his most famous work, though, is the Fontana dell’Elefante, which he placed at the centre of the reconstructed Piazza Duomo, consisting of a marble pedestal and fountains, supporting an ancient Roman statue of an elephant made from lava stone, which in turn has an obelisk mounted on its back, supposedly inspired by Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s Obelisk of Minerva in Rome, which is also borne by an elephant.

The monument's nickname in the Sicilian language is "Liotru," a reference to Elidoros, an eighth century wizard who sought, through magic, to make the elephant walk. The statue came to be adopted as the symbol of the city.

Vaccarini had shown artistic talents at an early age and as a young man went to Rome to study architecture, with the support of Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni, whose uncle had been Pope Alexander VIII. Ottoboni was a patron of the arts who had helped the career of the musician and composer Arcangelo Corelli.

A portrait of Vaccarini by Gaspare
Serenario, painted in 1761

The young Sicilian was particularly keen on the work of Bernini and Francesco Borromini, two leading figures in the emergence of Roman Baroque architecture. He was influenced too by the flamboyant styles of Alessandro Specchi, who built the papal stables, Filippo Raguzzini and Francesco de Sanctis, who designed the Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti – the Spanish Steps.

When he returned to Sicily he was appointed, in around 1730, as city architect by the Senate of Catania, with the city still facing a massive reconstruction programme following the devastating earthquake of 1693, which is thought to have killed up to 60,000 people and virtually destroyed 70 cities, towns and villages.

Vaccarini thus spent much of his working life directing the restoration of the city, which has subsequently grown to be the second largest on the island, with a population of more than 315,000.

The only significant period he spent away from Catania was in 1756 when he travelled to Naples to help Luigi Vanvitelli and Ferdinando Fuga with the construction of the marble Reggia di Caserta, the Royal Palace at Caserta, north of the city.

Vaccarini spent more than half his life working on the
restoration of Catania's Duomo

The restoration of the Catania Duomo, which spanned 36 years from 1732 to 1768, probably best illustrates the style of Vaccarini, influencing the mood of late Sicilian Baroque, the façade notable for the juxtaposition of white marble with lava stone in alternating columns.

The small church of the Badia (Abbey) of Sant'Agata, adjacent to the cathedral, borrowed some ideas from Borromini’s church of Sant'Agnese in Agone, in Rome, in particular its high dome and delicate front of concave and convex ripples, with a preciseness of detail that was a constant in Vaccarini's work.

The Palazzo Gioeni and Palazzo Valle and the church of San Benedetto, in Via dei Crociferi, were also part of Vaccarini’s Catania project.

Vaccarini died in his home city of Palermo in 1768.

Catania, sprawling at the feet of Mount Etna, is the sixth
largest metropolis in Italy

Travel tip:

The city of Catania, which is located on the east coast of Sicily facing the Ionian Sea, is one of the ten biggest cities in Italy, and the seventh largest metropolitan area in the country, with a population including the environs of 1.12 million. A little like Naples, only more so, in that it lives with the constant threat of a natural catastrophe, Catania has been virtually destroyed by earthquakes twice, in 1169 as well as 1693, and regularly witnesses volcanic eruptions from nearby Mount Etna. As such it has always been a city for living life to the full. In the Renaissance, it was one of Italy's most important cultural, artistic and political centres and has enjoys a rich cultural legacy today, with numerous museums and churches, theatres and parks and many restaurants.

The beautiful Basilica della Collegiata

Travel tip:

Apart from Vaccarini’s work, there are many other examples of the Sicilian Baroque style of architecture that give Catania its character, including the beautiful Basilica della Collegiata, with its six stone columns and the concave curve of its façade, designed by Stefano Ittar and Angelo Italia.  Elsewhere on the island, Rosario Gagliardi’s Church of San Giuseppe in Ragusa Ibla, Andrea Palma’s Duomo in Syracuse and Francesco Camilliani’s fountain in Piazza Pretoria in Palermo are other fine examples of the style.

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