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 feast only for Scicli

Wonderful quick decorations

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

One city, three sites

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Many owners, one palace

Discovering the mother church

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A symbol for the town

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

Norman apses

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

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

Prominent façade

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A museum to save a tradition

Two illustrious patron saints

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The interior and its masterpieces

A small room with a golden entrance

Between white and black

The disastrous earthquake

The wall comes to life

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Feast days

New roads for Catania

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Staircase of Angels

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The internal colours

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The two churches

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A hall for the feasts

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A half-Baroque church

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

A talking palace

Some masterpieces

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

The city of museums

A miniature city

A new site for a new church

From International Gothic to present day

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

A city in colour

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

One city, two sites

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Some prestigious works

An eagle-shaped city

The Maiolica of the staircase

A prominent church

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The theatre of taste

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

A triumph of colour

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

The colours of the cathedral

A long reconstruction

The chocolate of Modica

A colourful floor

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The church of Carmine

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

The Burgos crucifix

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Searching for colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A majestic and luminous church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo