Syracuse in the Catalan Age. The New City in the Age of Queens (1420-1536)

Abstract

In the late-medieval Syracuse customs, traditions and architectural style of the ancient Crown of Aragon, which belonged to the kingdom of Sicily, are reflected. The Government of the Queens is imposed, in particular in the years between 1420 and 1530, when Syracuse becomes the Capital of the Camera Reginale and one of the most important cities of Sicily. At that time, the ports  of  Syracuse,  Catania  and  Agrigento,  as  already  were those of Palermo, Trapani and Messina, became a privileged destination and port for rich merchants, who were trading from the Iberian Peninsula with the Sicilians, that in turn were in contact with Barcelona and other cities in Spain. The same officials who served the Queens imported the architectural uses that reproduce in Syracuse the palatial clarity of the Spanish residences of Barcelona, Lleida, Girona, Valencia or Centelles. In all this area the “Mediterranean Gothic” flourishes, with  its  chiaroscuro,  the  stone  embroideries,  and  the  two- or three-light windows that decorate the buildings’ facades. This article outlines the characters of the Aragonese-Catalan city, so far left in the somewhat shade and almost entirely to be discovered. Entering the patios with their open-air stairs and loggias of clear Catalan influence is an extraordinary experience that makes us understand the richness of urban history, interweaving of  different  cultures  and  expression  of  a  unique  building civilization.