Editing Sicily (section)

====Sicilian Baroque====
{{Main|Sicilian Baroque}}

The [[Sicilian Baroque]] has a unique architectural identity. [[Noto]], [[Caltagirone]], [[Catania]], [[Ragusa, Italy|Ragusa]], [[Modica]], [[Scicli]] and particularly [[Acireale]] contain some of Italy's best examples of [[Baroque architecture]], carved in the local red [[sandstone]]. Noto provides one of the best examples of the Baroque architecture brought to Sicily. The Baroque style in Sicily was largely confined to buildings erected by the church, and [[palazzo|palazzi]] built as private residences for the Sicilian aristocracy.<ref>"Palazzo" (pl. ''palazzi''): is any large building in a town, state or private (often much smaller than the term ''palace'' implies in the [[English-speaking world]]). While ''palazzo'' is the technically correct appellation and postal address, no Sicilian aristocrat would ever use the word, instead referring to his or her own house, however large, as "casa". "Palazzo" followed by the family name was the term used by officials, tradesmen, and delivery men. Gefen, p. 15.</ref> The earliest examples of this style in Sicily lacked individuality and were typically heavy-handed pastiches of buildings seen by Sicilian visitors to Rome, [[Florence]], and [[Naples]]. However, even at this early stage, provincial architects had begun to incorporate certain vernacular features of Sicily's older architecture. By the middle of the 18th century, when Sicily's Baroque architecture was noticeably different from that of the mainland, it has a unique freedom of design that is difficult to characterize in words.

<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
File:SiracusaCathedral-pjt1.jpg|[[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]], Cathedral
File:Catania, Basilica Collegiata - panoramio.jpg|[[Catania]], Basilica Collegiata
File:"1737 wurde der Palazzo Nicolaci als privates Adelshaus erbaut" 10.jpg|[[Noto]], Palazzo Nicolaci
File:Modica chiesa S Maria del Soccorso.jpg|[[Modica]], church of San Pietro
</gallery>