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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The wall comes to life

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Wonderful quick decorations

One city, two sites

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A new site for a new church

A colourful floor

New roads for Catania

The theatre of taste

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A hall for the feasts

The church of Carmine

A long reconstruction

A talking palace

A triumph of colour

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A feast only for Scicli

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A small room with a golden entrance

Some masterpieces

The Burgos crucifix

Two illustrious patron saints

Between white and black

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

The disastrous earthquake

The Staircase of Angels

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The two churches

The colours of the cathedral

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Discovering the mother church

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Many owners, one palace

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The city of museums

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

An eagle-shaped city

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The chocolate of Modica

The Baroque town by the sea

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The interior and its masterpieces

Searching for colour

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A new site for a new city

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A majestic and luminous church

Some prestigious works

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A city in colour

A square as the heart of the city

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Norman apses

The internal colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Feasting in Palazzolo

Prominent façade

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A symbol for the town

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A prominent church

A miniature city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

One city, three sites

A Nobel Prize in Modica

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Feast days

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

A museum to save a tradition