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 city in colour

One city, two sites

The internal colours

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A long reconstruction

The church of Carmine

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A triumph of colour

A new site for a new city

Feasting in Palazzolo

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Maiolica of the staircase

The Baroque town by the sea

The Burgos crucifix

From International Gothic to present day

Wonderful quick decorations

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A colourful floor

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Discovering the mother church

A small room with a golden entrance

Some masterpieces

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A new site for a new church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

A talking palace

The wall comes to life

The interior and its masterpieces

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

One city, three sites

Prominent façade

The chocolate of Modica

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Feast days

A feast only for Scicli

A half-Baroque church

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Some prestigious works

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Norman apses

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A miniature city

The disastrous earthquake

A hall for the feasts

Searching for colour

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

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

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

A majestic and luminous church

An eagle-shaped city

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

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

A prominent church

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

New roads for Catania

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The Staircase of Angels

A symbol for the town

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The colours of the cathedral

The two churches

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The theatre of taste

Two illustrious patron saints

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Between white and black

The city of museums

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

A museum to save a tradition

Modica, a city with ancient origins

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras