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

New roads for Catania

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A symbol for the town

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Baroque town by the sea

Some prestigious works

The city of museums

Wonderful quick decorations

The Staircase of Angels

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A talking palace

A new site for a new church

One city, two sites

The chocolate of Modica

Many owners, one palace

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

A half-Baroque church

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

From International Gothic to present day

Discovering the mother church

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A miniature city

A square as the heart of the city

The Burgos crucifix

A prominent church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The internal colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

Norman apses

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Searching for colour

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Some masterpieces

The disastrous earthquake

A triumph of colour

The wall comes to life

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

Feast days

The two churches

St. Sebastian, so much work!

One city, three sites

The colours of the cathedral

The interior and its masterpieces

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A small room with a golden entrance

The theatre of taste

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Prominent façade

A feast only for Scicli

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A museum to save a tradition

Two illustrious patron saints

Between white and black

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The church of Carmine

A colourful floor

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A majestic and luminous church

A city in colour

A long reconstruction

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo