Studying ancient Noto based on the few extant fragments of buildings in ruins is a challenging task. These are the remains of the violent earthquake that struck the south-eastern Sicily in 1693 and wiped the entire town away. If one adds the frequent documentary gaps and scarcity of graphic representations to this catastrophic event, the goal could seem an almost impossible mission. Yet, against all expectations, this “unusual” research has yielded data that allow us to capture a glimpse of the world of construction in the Modern Age through the study of the most important construction yards of civil and religious architectural works in the town. The research carried out on the fortifications that were skillfully built into the rock of Mount Alveria and bear witness to the feared Ottoman raids of the past, on the construction yards of the Mother church and of the numerous religious complexes and on the construction of the Senate Palace and major public works reveals the mystery of a past that has been unraveled thanks to the interpretation of documents, mostly unpublished, and the reading of handwritten sources supplemented by the comparison with the ruins. This effort has brought to light an architectural production of the highest quality, suggesting that Noto was the perfect place to learn the arts and secrets of stone masonry.

Studiare le fabbriche di Noto Antica, delle quali rimangono pochi frammenti ridotti in rovina, parti di una città totalmente scomparsa a causa del violento terremoto che colpì la parte sud- orientale della Sicilia nel 1693, costituisce un compito arduo. Se a questa catastrofica circostanza si sommano le frequenti lacune documentarie e la esiguità delle rappresentazioni grafiche l’obiettivo prefissato potrebbe diventare una missione impossibile. In realtà, contro tutte le aspettative, da questa ricerca “anomala” sono comparsi dati che consentono di intercettare uno spaccato del mondo della costruzione in età moderna attraverso lo studio dei più importanti cantieri di architettura civile e religiosa aperti in città. Dai dati raccolti sembra riemergere l’immagine una produzione architettonica secolare di altissima qualità e che lascia intuire come Noto fosse il luogo ideale per apprendere arti e segreti del costruire in pietra a vista.

Bares, M.M. (2016). Il mondo della costruzione a Noto nell'età moderna. Palermo : Edizioni Caracol [10.17401/NOTO-ANTICA-BARES].

Il mondo della costruzione a Noto nell'età moderna

BARES, Maria Mercedes
2016-01-01

Abstract

Studying ancient Noto based on the few extant fragments of buildings in ruins is a challenging task. These are the remains of the violent earthquake that struck the south-eastern Sicily in 1693 and wiped the entire town away. If one adds the frequent documentary gaps and scarcity of graphic representations to this catastrophic event, the goal could seem an almost impossible mission. Yet, against all expectations, this “unusual” research has yielded data that allow us to capture a glimpse of the world of construction in the Modern Age through the study of the most important construction yards of civil and religious architectural works in the town. The research carried out on the fortifications that were skillfully built into the rock of Mount Alveria and bear witness to the feared Ottoman raids of the past, on the construction yards of the Mother church and of the numerous religious complexes and on the construction of the Senate Palace and major public works reveals the mystery of a past that has been unraveled thanks to the interpretation of documents, mostly unpublished, and the reading of handwritten sources supplemented by the comparison with the ruins. This effort has brought to light an architectural production of the highest quality, suggesting that Noto was the perfect place to learn the arts and secrets of stone masonry.
2016
Settore ICAR/18 - Storia Dell'Architettura
978-88-98546-63-3
Bares, M.M. (2016). Il mondo della costruzione a Noto nell'età moderna. Palermo : Edizioni Caracol [10.17401/NOTO-ANTICA-BARES].
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10447/222591
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