Ragusa

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

taste
A freshwater spring

Not far from the church of San Giuseppe (St. Joseph) is Porta Walter. It was built in medieval times and allowed people to leave the city and visit the lush green valley of Santa Domenica.
From here they would reach a spring where inhabitants rushed to quench their thirst and collect as much water as possible, especially on long, sweltering summer days!

sight
A question of perspective!

Depending on the time of day, the levels of the façade and its various elements create a unique and fascinating combination of light effects.
The plays of light and shadow change from hour to hour.
The endless chiaroscuro effects uncover and hide new details each time.

touch
Such rich materials!

The church brings out the diversity of the materials and the infinite possibilities for their use. As a matter of fact, the glass used in the large windows of the vault was also used to decorate the altars with a process that imitates marble.
Used for the worshippers’ seating, wood also proves to be an excellent material for beautiful wooden sculptures such as the Madonna near the altar.
madonna in legno altare

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

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

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A colourful floor

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A prominent church

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

A feast only for Scicli

A hall for the feasts

A miniature city

The disastrous earthquake

Prominent façade

Many owners, one palace

The interior and its masterpieces

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The wall comes to life

A long reconstruction

Feast days

Searching for colour

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A talking palace

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The two churches

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A symbol for the town

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

One city, three sites

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Between white and black

Norman apses

The city of museums

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A triumph of colour

The Baroque town by the sea

A half-Baroque church

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

Two illustrious patron saints

Some prestigious works

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A new site for a new city

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The theatre of taste

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

One city, two sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A small room with a golden entrance

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A majestic and luminous church

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Wonderful quick decorations

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The church of Carmine

The colours of the cathedral

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The Staircase of Angels

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Some masterpieces

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

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

New roads for Catania

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The internal colours

St. Sebastian, so much work!

An eagle-shaped city

A new site for a new church

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

From International Gothic to present day

Feasting in Palazzolo

A city in colour

The chocolate of Modica

Discovering the mother church