Ragusa

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The church of San Giuseppe (St. Joseph) is located on the corner of Piazza Pola, near the Cathedral of San Giorgio (St. George) in Ibla.foto della piazza che inquadra la chiesa It was built after 1756, when the Benedictine nuns of the nearby convent, led by the abbess Battistina Maria Arezzo, bought the old dilapidated church of San Tommaso Apostolo (Thomas the Apostle). Thanks to them, reconstruction work began for the new church of San Giuseppe (St. Joseph).
The church building was built first, completed in 1774, followed by the demolition of the bell tower and the completion of the external and internal decorations. Foto facciata Initially the design for the new church was attributed to the great architect Rosario Gagliardi because of similarities with his other work, such as the Cathedral of San Giorgio (St. George) and the church of San Domenico (St. Dominic) in Noto. They all featured a horizontal division into three levels, with the final level containing the bell, but opinions have changed over the years and following more in-depth studies. Work by another architect, the Carmelite Friar Alberto Maria di San Giovanni Battista, who worked not only in Ragusa but also on the church of San Giovanni Evangelista (St. John the Evangelist) in Scicli, has a less innovative style than Gagliardi and is more similar to local artistic culture.
Well over seventy years later, Ibla and the Benedictine convent had a functioning new church, enjoyed by nuns and worshippers.
foto Facciata frontale

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A majestic and luminous church

A long reconstruction

Prominent façade

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A hall for the feasts

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The two churches

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

One city, two sites

Many owners, one palace

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Some masterpieces

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A museum to save a tradition

Norman apses

A new site for a new city

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A symbol for the town

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Between white and black

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Staircase of Angels

A triumph of colour

The theatre of taste

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A new site for a new church

Two illustrious patron saints

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

A small room with a golden entrance

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

A square as the heart of the city

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

A prominent church

The Burgos crucifix

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

The colours of the cathedral

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

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

One city, three sites

Feast days

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The internal colours

From International Gothic to present day

The church of Carmine

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

A miniature city

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The interior and its masterpieces

A talking palace

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A feast only for Scicli

Some prestigious works

The disastrous earthquake

The Maiolica of the staircase

The façade used as a puppet theatre

New roads for Catania

The wall comes to life

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Searching for colour

An eagle-shaped city

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A colourful floor

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

The city of museums

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The chocolate of Modica

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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