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

The Maiolica of the staircase

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A feast only for Scicli

Norman apses

A square as the heart of the city

The theatre of taste

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The colours of the cathedral

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

One city, two sites

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A small room with a golden entrance

The wall comes to life

One city, three sites

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

New roads for Catania

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Between white and black

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Two illustrious patron saints

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Feasting in Palazzolo

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

The two churches

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A new site for a new city

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A hall for the feasts

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A prominent church

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Searching for colour

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A colourful floor

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A city in colour

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Burgos crucifix

Some masterpieces

Discovering the mother church

A long reconstruction

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

A symbol for the town

Prominent façade

Wonderful quick decorations

A museum to save a tradition

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

An eagle-shaped city

The internal colours

A new site for a new church

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Staircase of Angels

A majestic and luminous church

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

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

The Baroque town by the sea

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

The chocolate of Modica

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

The church of Carmine

Some prestigious works

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A triumph of colour

A miniature city

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The city of museums

Feast days

A talking palace

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Many owners, one palace

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The interior and its masterpieces

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras