ITALIA TOUR

CHURCH OF SANTA CHIARA DI NOTO OF SYRACUSE IN SICILY

The Church of Santa Chiara di Noto in the province of Syracuse in Sicily
The church of Santa Chiara (officially called the church of Santa Maria Assunta) is located in Noto, in Corso Vittorio Emanuele, adjacent to the former Benedictine monastery of the Santissimo Crocifisso.

Designed by Rosario Gagliardi in the years around 1730, it was completed in 1758 and was annexed to the monastery (now used as a museum). The central plan is elliptical, modeled on the Roman elliptical churches built between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

The exterior is characterized by the presence of a bell tower, adorned in the corners by two capitals.

The baroque architectural style is more recognizable inside, thanks to the numerous decorations with stuccoes and putti. On the twelve internal columns are the statues of the apostles performed by the decorator and stucco artist Basile.

The altar on the right is preserved in 1854
The Saints Benedict and Scholastica, by the Palermo painter Salvatore Lo Forte. On the left there is a Madonna and Child with a sixteenth century marble attributed to Antonello Gagini.

Originally the only portal of the church was the one located along Corso Vittorio Emanuele; towards the end of the eighteenth century another was added on the side of Via Pier Capponi, due to some works along the Corso. After completion of the works, however, a considerable reduction of the road level was found, which therefore rendered the original portal unusable. Today the only access to the church is via Pier Capponi.

The church has been the subject of extensive restoration work, completed in 2006.