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

From International Gothic to present day

Connections with other UNESCO sites

An eagle-shaped city

The two churches

Feast days

New roads for Catania

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

One city, three sites

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A prominent church

A talking palace

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A feast only for Scicli

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The chocolate of Modica

A half-Baroque church

Wonderful quick decorations

Some masterpieces

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

The internal colours

A triumph of colour

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Between white and black

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

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The theatre of taste

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

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

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

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Two illustrious patron saints

Discovering the mother church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Some prestigious works

A symbol for the town

The Maiolica of the staircase

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The church of Carmine

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Baroque town by the sea

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The disastrous earthquake

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

One city, two sites

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

Searching for colour

A majestic and luminous church

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Prominent façade

The Staircase of Angels

The wall comes to life

A small room with a golden entrance

Many owners, one palace

A square as the heart of the city

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A Nobel Prize in Modica

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Burgos crucifix

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The interior and its masterpieces

Norman apses

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The colours of the cathedral

A long reconstruction

A museum to save a tradition

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A new site for a new city

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A miniature city

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

A new site for a new church

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A colourful floor

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A city in colour

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The city of museums