The essay discusses convent staircases built during the seventeenth century in certain Sicilian towns through the examination of some case studies. The issue is significant in determining the contribution made by Sicilian architecture to the broader proliferation of monumental staircases throughout Italy, Spain, and Europe. The selected cases feature spatial configurations and plans inspired by prior civil architecture, as well as an original range of new solutions. Many of the examined works combined a need for distribution to interface with the annexed cloisters, and evident aspirations of principals and designers to make these staircases representative and distinctive by creating scenic effects and using technical artifices. These spectacular displays of magnificence were not isolated phenomena. Indeed, many religious communities around Europe were adopting equally effective rhetorical devices and in this context Spanish imperial staircases came to play a leading role in the seventeenth century. Some Sicilian works, quite unique and sophisticated in terms of composition and building techniques, have not yet been studied and still lack documentary evidence revealing the names of the architects. Other more modern solutions manifest the attention of local architects to coeval national and international creations.
Il saggio ripercorre il tema degli scaloni conventuali realizzati durante il Seicento in alcuni centri della Sicilia attraverso l’esame di casi esemplari. L’argomento appare rilevante per stabilire il contributo offerto dall’architettura dell’isola nei confronti della più vasta proliferazione degli scaloni monumentali che si registra in Italia, Spagna, Europa. I casi individuati presentano articolazioni spaziali e planimetriche desunte da precedenti architetture civili, ma anche una originale varietà di nuove soluzioni. Molte delle opere indagate intrecciano necessità di carattere distributivo, relazionandosi con i chiostri annessi, ed evidenti aspirazioni di rappresentatività e di distinzione perseguite dai committenti e dai progettisti tramite il raggiungimento di effetti scenografici e artifici di carattere tecnico. Questi gradi di magnificenza e di spettacolarità non erano fenomeni isolati, molte comunità religiose europee si stavano attrezzando con dispositivi retorici altrettanto efficaci e in questo contesto emerge il ruolo guida assunto nel Seicento dagli scaloni imperiali spagnoli. Alcune opere siciliane, singolari e raffinate dal punto di vista sia compositivo che costruttivo, risultano ancora prive di studi ma soprattutto di documentazione in grado di rivelare i nomi dei progettisti. Altre soluzioni aggiornate manifestano l’attenzione degli architetti locali verso la coeva produzione nazionale e internazionale.
Sutera, D. (2016). LE SCALE DEI COMPLESSI CONVENTUALI NELLA SICILIA DEL SEICENTO: MAGNIFICENZA E ARTIFICIO TECNICO. ARS LONGA, 25(25), 157-166.
LE SCALE DEI COMPLESSI CONVENTUALI NELLA SICILIA DEL SEICENTO: MAGNIFICENZA E ARTIFICIO TECNICO
SUTERA, Domenica
2016-01-01
Abstract
The essay discusses convent staircases built during the seventeenth century in certain Sicilian towns through the examination of some case studies. The issue is significant in determining the contribution made by Sicilian architecture to the broader proliferation of monumental staircases throughout Italy, Spain, and Europe. The selected cases feature spatial configurations and plans inspired by prior civil architecture, as well as an original range of new solutions. Many of the examined works combined a need for distribution to interface with the annexed cloisters, and evident aspirations of principals and designers to make these staircases representative and distinctive by creating scenic effects and using technical artifices. These spectacular displays of magnificence were not isolated phenomena. Indeed, many religious communities around Europe were adopting equally effective rhetorical devices and in this context Spanish imperial staircases came to play a leading role in the seventeenth century. Some Sicilian works, quite unique and sophisticated in terms of composition and building techniques, have not yet been studied and still lack documentary evidence revealing the names of the architects. Other more modern solutions manifest the attention of local architects to coeval national and international creations.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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