'La Cappella Sistina di Sicilia' : The Baroque church of the Benedictine nunnery of S. Giovanni Evangelista in Piazza Armerina in Sicily

Abstract

Part of the challenge of architectural historians is trying to figure out how and why certain buildings of the past, associated with different lifestyles and mental attitudes, were very dissimilar to their modern counterparts. There is also the challenge of discovering those features that now form a significant part of our legacy and therefore need to be conserved for posterity. In this article it will be argued how a hitherto little-publicized gem of the Baroque Age in the Sicilian town of Piazza Armerina - the small conventual church dedicated to St John the Evangelist - fulfils this quest. So that one can better reach out to the protagonists who created this so-called Cappella Sistina di Sicilia I have chosen to write most of this contribution in the present tense, following the unusual but, in my opinion, very effective example adopted by Regine Neuhauser in her fascinating book entitled Maria Theresa of Austria.