Ragusa

A prominent church

The church of San Giovanni Battista (St. John the Baptist) was rebuilt in the new town and became the prominent feature in the square where it is located, which bears the same name.

The church of San Giovanni Battista
The church of San Giovanni Battista was built in the new town of Ragusa. The facade is preceded by a huge and high churchyard accessible through twenty-two steps, located in the center of the basement. The facade is large: it has the main portal in the center, the two smaller ones on the right and left; to delimit it laterally on the left was built a bell tower, missed on the left, there is only the large base of two floors. Above the main portal there is a niche where there is the statue of the Immaculate Conception with Saint John the Baptist on one side and Saint John the Evangelist on the other.

foto della facciata When hit by the sun, the church lights up and reflects onto the parvis which, like a stage, lights up to reveal the spectacle of town life.
It is the result of a long reconstruction that began in 1720 and ended in 1778, when the church was ordained.
The story of the church of St. John the Baptist begins with the seat’s transfer from Ibla to Ragusa.As a matter of fact, the new site , offered a healthier environment at the centre of the new urban fabric.
Positioned above street level, the cathedral stands on an enormous base with a staircase in the centre for accessing the parvis, which is enclosed by a white limestone balustrade. The façade is huge. The first level is divided vertically into five parts by six columns resting on a tall base.
The central part contains the large entrance portal inserted between pairs of columns; above there is space for a niche with the statue of the Immaculate Conception in the middle accompanied by St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist.
There is also bossage decoration on the outer sides of the columns.

zoom statua dell’Immacolata
statua dell’Immacolata

The second level is decidedly less elaborate and is completed with a classic triangular pediment and lateral volutes .
One bell tower, not two, completes the façade. The dome that can be seen from Corso Italia was built in 1783 and clad in copper.

zoom volute laterali
volute laterali

foto dettaglio del bugnato   foto cupola dalla strada

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The theatre of taste

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The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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A miniature city

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The church of Carmine

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A triumph of colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A symbol for the town

The wall comes to life

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Searching for colour

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A feast only for Scicli

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Feast days

The Burgos crucifix

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The two churches

The Maiolica of the staircase

Many owners, one palace

A new site for a new city

The chocolate of Modica

A long reconstruction

Some prestigious works

The disastrous earthquake

The interior and its masterpieces

Two illustrious patron saints

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San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A museum to save a tradition

Some masterpieces

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

An eagle-shaped city

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A hall for the feasts

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

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

A prominent church

The city of museums

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Between white and black

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Feasting in Palazzolo

From International Gothic to present day

The internal colours

New roads for Catania

The Baroque town by the sea

Prominent façade

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A new site for a new church

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A talking palace

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Wonderful quick decorations

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 Giuliano ai Crociferi

A majestic and luminous church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The colours of the cathedral

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A colourful floor

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A square as the heart of the city

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

Norman apses

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