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 new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A new site for a new church

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

A feast only for Scicli

Between white and black

Discovering the mother church

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Many owners, one palace

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The two churches

A city in colour

A long reconstruction

A small room with a golden entrance

From International Gothic to present day

A symbol for the town

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A half-Baroque church

A majestic and luminous church

The city of museums

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A talking palace

The theatre of taste

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

The Burgos crucifix

A prominent church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Feast days

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Norman apses

Wonderful quick decorations

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

Some prestigious works

The internal colours

A hall for the feasts

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The wall comes to life

A miniature city

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Prominent façade

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Staircase of Angels

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The interior and its masterpieces

The colours of the cathedral

An eagle-shaped city

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The chocolate of Modica

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

A museum to save a tradition

Connections with other UNESCO sites

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The disastrous earthquake

Feasting in Palazzolo

Some masterpieces

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Searching for colour

One city, two sites

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A square as the heart of the city

One city, three sites

The Maiolica of the staircase

Two illustrious patron saints

The church of Carmine

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A triumph of colour

A colourful floor

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

New roads for Catania

The Baroque town by the sea

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