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

Some prestigious works

The interior and its masterpieces

The colours of the cathedral

Many owners, one palace

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A miniature city

The chocolate of Modica

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The two churches

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Baroque town by the sea

Some masterpieces

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Searching for colour

A feast only for Scicli

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

A square as the heart of the city

The Maiolica of the staircase

Norman apses

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The city of museums

A colourful floor

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Feast days

A symbol for the town

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The disastrous earthquake

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

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

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Prominent façade

A city in colour

The Staircase of Angels

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Burgos crucifix

Between white and black

A new site for a new church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The theatre of taste

Wonderful quick decorations

One city, three sites

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

One city, two sites

A talking palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A triumph of colour

The internal colours

Feasting in Palazzolo

A half-Baroque church

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The church of Carmine

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

From International Gothic to present day

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Two illustrious patron saints

A museum to save a tradition

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A long reconstruction

Discovering the mother church

The wall comes to life

A majestic and luminous church

A new site for a new city

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

New roads for Catania

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

A prominent church

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A small room with a golden entrance

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

An eagle-shaped city