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 church of Carmine

Prominent façade

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

New roads for Catania

The theatre of taste

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Feasting in Palazzolo

A long reconstruction

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

A new site for a new church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Between white and black

The two churches

Discovering the mother church

A majestic and luminous church

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

One city, three sites

A triumph of colour

One city, two sites

The city of museums

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Some prestigious works

Some masterpieces

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

From International Gothic to present day

A talking palace

A colourful floor

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Feast days

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

Wonderful quick decorations

The Staircase of Angels

A museum to save a tradition

The Burgos crucifix

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The disastrous earthquake

An eagle-shaped city

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

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

Two illustrious patron saints

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

A city in colour

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A symbol for the town

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The colours of the cathedral

A small room with a golden entrance

A prominent church

Many owners, one palace

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

Norman apses

A miniature city

The interior and its masterpieces

The Maiolica of the staircase

A hall for the feasts

A half-Baroque church

Searching for colour

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A square as the heart of the city

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The internal colours

The wall comes to life

The façade used as a puppet theatre