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 cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Norman apses

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

A city in colour

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A new site for a new church

A hall for the feasts

The chocolate of Modica

Some masterpieces

A miniature city

The disastrous earthquake

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The theatre of taste

Two illustrious patron saints

A triumph of colour

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

A new site for a new city

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The interior and its masterpieces

One city, three sites

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

An eagle-shaped city

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Maiolica of the staircase

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

One city, two sites

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The colours of the cathedral

A talking palace

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The internal colours

A majestic and luminous church

Prominent façade

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The city of museums

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A long reconstruction

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

The Baroque town by the sea

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Burgos crucifix

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A half-Baroque church

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

The church of Carmine

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Feasting in Palazzolo

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Discovering the mother church

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A prominent church

The two churches

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A symbol for the town

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

New roads for Catania

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A square as the heart of the city

Between white and black

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Many owners, one palace

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Feast days

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A colourful floor

Some prestigious works

Searching for colour

Wonderful quick decorations

The wall comes to life

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family