Full Description
Art and Architecture of Sicily is the first book to cover the rich artistic heritage of Sicily from prehistory up to the late 20th century. Sicily's strategic position in the centre of the Mediterranean led to settlement or conquest by a succession of different peoples - Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Muslims, Normans, Germans, French, Spanish - each one leaving its traces on Sicilian culture.
The book provides a chronological survey, each section opening with a brief historical overview which is followed by an authoritative and engaging account of the development of the period's art and architecture. The leading architects, artists and stylistic currents are all discussed and outstanding individual buildings and works of art are analysed, some famous, others which may be unfamiliar to readers. While architecture is the principal starting point for the understanding of each period, paintings and sculpture are treated in some detail; archaeology, urban development, patronage and decorative arts are also covered.
The development of art and architecture in Sicily is not interpreted as a story of artistic conquests, but as one of acculturation and creative transformation. The author reveals that successive layering of different cultures, and the way each one interacted with its predecessors, produced art and architecture quite distinct from anywhere else in Europe. He thus challenges the commonly held view that Sicilian art and architecture is provincial and derivative, merely imitating the art of others.
Contents
Introduction; Prehistoric Sicily; The Greeks come to Sicily: the Archaic Period; The Greeks in Sicily: the Classical Period; Punic Sicily; The Greeks in Sicily: the late Classical and Hellenistic periods; Sicily, province of Rome; Early Christian, Byzantine and Arabic Sicily; The Normans in Sicily: a new architectural style; The Normans in Sicily: the royal workshops, the pleasure pavilions and the later cathedrals; Sicily under the Hohenstaufen Emperors; Late medieval Sicily: German, French and Aragonese rule; Sicily under the Spanish Viceroys: the 15th century; Sicily under the Spanish Viceroys: the 16th century; The coming of the Baroque to western Sicily; The earthquake of 1693 and the rebuilding of eastern Sicily; Late Baroque architecture in western Sicily; Baroque painting, sculpture and decorative arts; Neo classicism in Sicily; The search for a new style: Sicily 1840-1918; Sicily after 1918
