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.

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A city in colour

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Norman apses

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

Feast days

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

One city, three sites

The disastrous earthquake

A colourful floor

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The wall comes to life

A talking palace

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

A majestic and luminous church

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A feast only for Scicli

The city of museums

The chocolate of Modica

An eagle-shaped city

Between white and black

A long reconstruction

Prominent façade

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Searching for colour

A miniature city

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A museum to save a tradition

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Many owners, one palace

A new site for a new city

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A half-Baroque church

The theatre of taste

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

From International Gothic to present day

The Staircase of Angels

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

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The internal colours

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

The church of Carmine

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

One city, two sites

A new site for a new church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

New roads for Catania

A symbol for the town

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Some prestigious works

A triumph of colour

A prominent church

Some masterpieces

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

A square as the heart of the city

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Burgos crucifix

A hall for the feasts

The colours of the cathedral

The two churches

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The interior and its masterpieces

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

The Baroque town by the sea

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Wonderful quick decorations

Discovering the mother church