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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A hall for the feasts

Some masterpieces

A prominent church

A city in colour

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A symbol for the town

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Baroque town by the sea

The two churches

Norman apses

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

One city, two sites

A new site for a new city

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The interior and its masterpieces

The disastrous earthquake

Feast days

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A museum to save a tradition

Two illustrious patron saints

A square as the heart of the city

New roads for Catania

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

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

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

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

The Staircase of Angels

A miniature city

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

An eagle-shaped city

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A feast only for Scicli

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The church of Carmine

From International Gothic to present day

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Many owners, one palace

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Some prestigious works

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A majestic and luminous church

The chocolate of Modica

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

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A long reconstruction

Between white and black

A new site for a new church

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Prominent façade

The city of museums

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A triumph of colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The internal colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

Searching for colour

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

One city, three sites

A half-Baroque church

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A talking palace

The theatre of taste

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Burgos crucifix

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A colourful floor

The wall comes to life

Discovering the mother church

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Wonderful quick decorations