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.

A triumph of colour

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

The wall comes to life

The Burgos crucifix

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

A miniature city

A colourful floor

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The city of museums

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Maiolica of the staircase

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Between white and black

Wonderful quick decorations

A small room with a golden entrance

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Norman apses

The interior and its masterpieces

One city, three sites

A prominent church

Prominent façade

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A new site for a new church

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

An eagle-shaped city

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Two illustrious patron saints

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A hall for the feasts

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Baroque town by the sea

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A long reconstruction

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A symbol for the town

From International Gothic to present day

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The theatre of taste

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

New roads for Catania

The Staircase of Angels

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The church of Carmine

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

A square as the heart of the city

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The chocolate of Modica

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Feasting in Palazzolo

A new site for a new city

A half-Baroque church

One city, two sites

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The two churches

Searching for colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A city in colour

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

Many owners, one palace

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Feast days

Some prestigious works

A majestic and luminous church

The colours of the cathedral

A talking palace

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A museum to save a tradition

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The disastrous earthquake

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The internal colours

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A feast only for Scicli

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra