Architecture, Opportunity, and Conflict in Eighteenth-Century Sicily : : Rebuilding after Natural Disaster / / Martin Nixon.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Amsterdam University Press Complete eBook-Package 2023
• VerfasserIn: Nixon, Martin,
• Place / Publishing House: Amsterdam : : Amsterdam University Press, , [2023]; ©2023
• Year of Publication: 2023
• Language: English
• Series: Visual and Material Culture, 1300 –1700 ; 46
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (284 p.)

The catastrophic Sicilian earthquake of 1693 led to the rebuilding of over 60 towns in the island’s south-west. The rebuilding extended into the eighteenth century and gave opportunities for the reassertion and the transformation of power relations. Although eight of the towns are now protected by UNESCO, the remarkable architecture resulting from this rebuilding is little known outside Sicily. This is the first book-length study in English of this interesting area of early modern architecture. Rather than seek to address all of the towns, five case studies discuss key aspects of the rebuilding by approaching the architecture from different scales, from that of a whole town to parts of a town, or single buildings, or parts of buildings and their decoration. Each case study also investigates a different theoretical assumption in architecture, including ideas of the Baroque, rational planning, and the relegation of decoration in architectural discourse.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Table of Contents -- List of illustrations -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. Sicily as a Colonial Possession c. 1600– 1750: Subordination and Resistance -- 2. The Hexagonal Towns of Avola and Grammichele: Urbanism, Fortification, and Coercion -- 3. The Palaces of Noto: Ornament, Order, and Opportunism -- 4. The Palazzo Biscari in Catania: Lightness, Refinement, and Distinction -- 5. The Palazzo Beneventano in Scicli: Trauma and Violence -- 6. The Palaces of Ragusa: Abundance, Famine, and the Grotesque -- Conclusion -- Glossary -- Bibliography -- Index