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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Staircase of Angels

Wonderful quick decorations

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A hall for the feasts

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

A colourful floor

The Burgos crucifix

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A small room with a golden entrance

Connections with other UNESCO sites

An eagle-shaped city

The church of Carmine

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

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

One city, two sites

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A half-Baroque church

Between white and black

A symbol for the town

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Some masterpieces

Norman apses

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

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Two illustrious patron saints

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

Discovering the mother church

The city of museums

The theatre of taste

A majestic and luminous church

The chocolate of Modica

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A talking palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Baroque town by the sea

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A miniature city

Prominent façade

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

The disastrous earthquake

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The interior and its masterpieces

One city, three sites

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The two churches

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

A long reconstruction

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Some prestigious works

A square as the heart of the city

Feast days

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

A triumph of colour

Feasting in Palazzolo

From International Gothic to present day

Many owners, one palace

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A museum to save a tradition

A new site for a new church

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The colours of the cathedral

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Searching for colour

A city in colour

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The internal colours

A prominent church

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A new site for a new city

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph