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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Some prestigious works

A majestic and luminous church

The internal colours

The theatre of taste

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

A new site for a new city

A hall for the feasts

Discovering the mother church

The two churches

A new site for a new church

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

Searching for colour

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Feast days

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A square as the heart of the city

Many owners, one palace

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A miniature city

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The interior and its masterpieces

Feasting in Palazzolo

Wonderful quick decorations

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Prominent façade

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The colours of the cathedral

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Baroque town by the sea

Some masterpieces

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A city in colour

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Norman apses

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The wall comes to life

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

One city, three sites

A triumph of colour

A prominent church

One city, two sites

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

The city of museums

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A long reconstruction

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Staircase of Angels

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The Burgos crucifix

Between white and black

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A symbol for the town

From International Gothic to present day

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

New roads for Catania

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Two illustrious patron saints

The church of Carmine

A feast only for Scicli

A museum to save a tradition

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A colourful floor

The disastrous earthquake

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The chocolate of Modica

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

A talking palace

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom