Ragusa

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giovanni Battista

hearing
Angelic song

On 24 June 1858 the church resounded with festivities.
The great organ was inaugurated, with more than three thousand pipes and a gigantic wooden cantoria (a structure built to house the choir). We can only imagine the sweet sound that accompanied that moment.
The organ still works today and can be found in the right chapel before the transept, while the cantoria was placed above the main portal.
For centuries, music and angelic songs have been an integral part of liturgical functions.
foto organo foto organo nella prima cappella di destra del transetto

touch
Pietra pece, a special stone

The dark, petroleum-infused pietra pece of the floor smells like petrol and leaves a coat of grease on your fingers like oil!
This unique rock is widely used because its particular composition can make a room resistant to humidity.

sight
Diversity makes everything more special

The two-tone interior makes the cathedral of San Giovanni Battista (St. John the Baptist) wonderful. The white walls combined with the black floor enhances both elements and adds liveliness to the environment.
Once inside the church of St. John the Baptist, our sense of sight is also stimulated by the colourful altars that crowd the side naves.
Red, green, white, gold, and even the black of the balustrades stimulate the visitor’s eye.

From International Gothic to present day

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Feasting in Palazzolo

Church of San Giuliano (St. Julian) on Via dei Crociferi: reconstruction

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Giuliano ai Crociferi

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A prominent church

Wonderful quick decorations

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Giovanni Evangelista

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A triumph of colour

One city, three sites

The senses tell the Mother Church of San Nicolò and of the Santissimo Salvatore

The senses tell the story of the church of Santa Maria del Carmelo

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A miniature city

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The church of Carmine

A half-Baroque church

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Burgos crucifix

Feast days

Some prestigious works

The disastrous earthquake

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the story of the staircase of Santa Maria del Monte

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Norman apses

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Some masterpieces

Prominent façade

The colours of the cathedral

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giovanni Battista

The theatre of taste

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Between white and black

The interior and its masterpieces

A talking palace

A long reconstruction

Many owners, one palace

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Freedom of worship and the role of the Catholic Church in the diffusion of Baroque

A museum to save a tradition

The city of museums

The senses tell the Benedictine Monastery and San NicoIò l’Arena

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

An eagle-shaped city

One city, two sites

Discovering the mother church

The role of the religious orders in rebuilding the Val di Noto

A new site for a new church

A symbol for the town

The Maiolica of the staircase

A new site for a new city

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A colourful floor

From the contrast of the exterior to the internal jubilation of colours

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A small room with a golden entrance

The wall comes to life

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The two churches

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A feast only for Scicli

Searching for colour

The internal colours

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the story of the Badia di Sant’Agata

A majestic and luminous church

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A square as the heart of the city

Two illustrious patron saints

A hall for the feasts

The façade used as a puppet theatre