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 chocolate of Modica

The church of Carmine

A miniature city

Some prestigious works

A long reconstruction

An eagle-shaped city

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Feasting in Palazzolo

A half-Baroque church

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A feast only for Scicli

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

A triumph of colour

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Norman apses

Connections with other UNESCO sites

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

Some masterpieces

A museum to save a tradition

From International Gothic to present day

A talking palace

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A new site for a new church

The colours of the cathedral

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A colourful floor

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The interior and its masterpieces

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

Discovering the mother church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A symbol for the town

Feast days

New roads for Catania

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A square as the heart of the city

Wonderful quick decorations

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Between white and black

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

A new site for a new city

One city, three sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

Prominent façade

One city, two sites

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

The two churches

The city of museums

The Baroque town by the sea

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

A majestic and luminous church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The internal colours

The Burgos crucifix

Searching for colour

The theatre of taste

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A hall for the feasts

A prominent church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The wall comes to life

A city in colour

A small room with a golden entrance

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Many owners, one palace