San Carlo al Corso is a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

-style,

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church located on Corso Vittorio Emanuele #119 in the town of

Noto Noto (; ) is a city and in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily, Italy. It is southwest of the city of Syracuse at the foot of the Iblean Mountains. It lends its name to the surrounding area Val di Noto. In 2002 Noto and its church were decl ...

, region of

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, Italy. This is also known as the ''Collegiata'' or collegiate church due to the adjacent

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

seminary and monastery.

History and description

The present church, dedicated to San

Carlo Borromeo Charles Borromeo (; ; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was an Italian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584. He was made a cardinal in 1560. Borromeo founded the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine and was ...

, replaced an earlier church. This church likely designed by

Rosario Gagliardi Rosario Gagliardi (1698–1762) was an Italian architect born in Syracuse. He was one of the leading architects working in the Sicilian Baroque. Despite never leaving Sicily, his work showed great understanding of the style, but was a progression ...

, was part of the town reconstruction after the

1693 Sicily earthquake The 1693 Sicily earthquake was a natural disaster that struck parts of southern Italy near Sicily, then a territory part of the Crown of Aragon by the Kings of Spain Calabria and Malta, on 11 January at around 21:00 local time. This earthquake was ...

. The concave façade has three superimposed orders of columns, identified by their capitals from base to roofline as Doric, Ionic and Corinthian; in the progression expected in classical construction. The third story has floral oculus. The interior has a longitudinal layout with a barrel vault sustained by pilasters. The main altar was rescued from the prior church. Inside the church, the 18th-century altarpieces display a ''Sacrifice of Isaac''; a ''Flight into Egypt''; a ''Deposition''; ''San Carlo Borromeo ministering to those ill with the plague''; a ''Virgin and Child with saints''; ''Biblical Scene''; ''St Ignatius of Loyola'', founder of the Jesuit order; and wood icon of St ''Aloyitius Gonzaga'', another Jesuit saint. The main altar is flanked by marble statues symbolizing ''Faith'' and ''Hope'' respectively, sculpted by Giuseppe Giuliano. The nave ceiling is frescoed by Costantino Carasi, depicting the ''Transfiguration'' and the ''Healing of the Paralytic'', with a central panel depicting the ''Triumph of the Agnus Dei''. The spandrels that support the dome are frescoed with the evangelists, and just below are four allegorical statues depicting the respective cardinal virtues: Temperance and Fortitude (on the right), Justice and Prudence (on the left).Cosmoibleo entry
cultural association of the ''Iblee Religions and Cultures'' was founded by 10 partners towns.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlo al Corso Noto Baroque architecture in Noto 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy

History and description

See also

References