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.

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Wonderful quick decorations

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Norman apses

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The internal colours

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The church of Carmine

A half-Baroque church

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

One city, two sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Some masterpieces

The Burgos crucifix

Feast days

A colourful floor

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The theatre of taste

New roads for Catania

A triumph of colour

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

A symbol for the town

Some prestigious works

A majestic and luminous church

The city of museums

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Between white and black

Feasting in Palazzolo

The colours of the cathedral

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A talking palace

A long reconstruction

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Staircase of Angels

Two illustrious patron saints

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

The wall comes to life

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

From International Gothic to present day

The interior and its masterpieces

Discovering the mother church

The chocolate of Modica

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

One city, three sites

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

Searching for colour

A new site for a new church

Prominent façade

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A museum to save a tradition

Many owners, one palace

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

A new site for a new city

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A square as the heart of the city

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

A miniature city

A prominent church

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A feast only for Scicli

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The two churches

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Baroque town by the sea

An eagle-shaped city

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

A hall for the feasts

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)