Ragusa

Searching for colour

The interior of the church of San Giuseppe (St. Joseph) is a single large oval-shaped room.
The Friar Alberto Maria di San Giovanni Battista most likely took inspiration for its floor plan from the church of Santa Chiara (St. Claire) in Noto.
The architect friar had two entrances built, one from Piazza Pola and the other directly from the convent for access by the nuns. As you enter the church you are surprised and overwhelmed by its very high ceiling, an effect achieved thanks to the majestic dome and the four windows that fill the space with light.
Ingresso verso l’altare foto dal basso verso l’alto della cupola
As for the walls, they were left white with some golden stucco decoration.
This pallor, however, is immediately broken up by four colourful altars placed along the walls, the painting on the high altar and the vault fresco.

zoom affresco della volta
affresco della volta

The painting with the Holy Family was created by painter Matteo Battaglia from Ragusa and the fresco with the Glory of St. Benedict is the work of Sebastiano Lo Monaco, an artist from Catania.
To add colour to the room, and to create a strong contrast with the white walls, black pietra pece was used for the floor, which features a white limestone decoration.
uno degli altari sulle pareti pavimento

Discovering the mother church

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

One city, two sites

The internal colours

A museum to save a tradition

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

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

A new site for a new church

The two churches

A small room with a golden entrance

A prominent church

Some prestigious works

A majestic and luminous church

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A square as the heart of the city

The colours of the cathedral

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The city of museums

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The theatre of taste

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

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

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Burgos crucifix

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A miniature city

New roads for Catania

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A hall for the feasts

A triumph of colour

One city, three sites

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The chocolate of Modica

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The disastrous earthquake

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A feast only for Scicli

An eagle-shaped city

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A city in colour

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The interior and its masterpieces

Two illustrious patron saints

Many owners, one palace

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A talking palace

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A colourful floor

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Feast days

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

Some masterpieces

From International Gothic to present day

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A new site for a new city

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Staircase of Angels

The church of Carmine

A symbol for the town

The wall comes to life

A long reconstruction

Searching for colour

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Between white and black

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Maiolica of the staircase

Norman apses

Feasting in Palazzolo

Prominent façade

St. Sebastian, so much work!