Melior de cinere surgo. Rituale urbano e immaginario sonoro di una città resiliente

Through the methodological perspective of the Urban Musicology, the article deals with a paradigmatic case of resilience: the rebirth of Catania in the eighteenth century, following the ‘terrible’ earthquake of 1693. Elected as an emblem, the motto melior de cinere surgo synthesises expressively the image of a city that resurrects like a phoenix, magnificent after the tragic destructive event. Nonetheless, the spatial hierarchy and the privileged itineraries derived from the rebuilding project trace a pivotal point in the ritual and the feast: the orthogonal subdivision of the urban space gives shape to a city ‘redesigned’ as a marvellous open-air theatre that annually, according to an ancient ceremonial, hosts a complex visual and sound spectacle on the occasion of St Agatha’s feast