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

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A small room with a golden entrance

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

The church of Carmine

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Between white and black

The Baroque town by the sea

The wall comes to life

A majestic and luminous church

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The colours of the cathedral

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Staircase of Angels

A talking palace

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A triumph of colour

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Norman apses

The two churches

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Maiolica of the staircase

A symbol for the town

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The theatre of taste

One city, two sites

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

A miniature city

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Some prestigious works

A long reconstruction

The city of museums

Many owners, one palace

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

A new site for a new city

From International Gothic to present day

A half-Baroque church

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

The interior and its masterpieces

One city, three sites

Feast days

The Burgos crucifix

A prominent church

Prominent façade

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

New roads for Catania

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

Searching for colour

A new site for a new church

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The disastrous earthquake

Two illustrious patron saints

Discovering the mother church

A hall for the feasts

Feasting in Palazzolo

Some masterpieces

A colourful floor

A museum to save a tradition

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The internal colours

The chocolate of Modica

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A feast only for Scicli

A city in colour

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A square as the heart of the city