Ragusa

City and nature

Surrounded by a lush chain of hills located in the southern part of the Hyblaean Mountains and crossed by the river Irminio, the city of Ragusa sits on three hilly areas separated by a deep valley. It originated from the union of Ibla, an ancient city, and Ragusa.Ragusa panoramica
Ibla was founded by the Sicel population. Ragusa, on the other hand, has much less ancient origins and was built after the earthquake of 1693.
The inhabitants were unable to agree on the city’s reconstruction and divided themselves into two factions : the sangiorgiani, which included aristocratic families linked to the parish of San Giorgio, who hoped to rebuild on the old site; and the sangiovannari, represented by more modest classes who lived near the parish of San Giorgio outside the walls, who intended for it to be rebuilt on another site. It was decided, therefore, to build a city divided into two parts: Ibla was rebuilt on a lower hill, maintaining the former road organisation, while Ragusa was designed from scratch with a system of orthogonal roads.
Over time the initial disagreements dissipated and the inhabitants began to live in the intermediate space, but it was not until 1926 that the reunification of Ibla and Ragusa took place.
The modern city is divided into two parts and to reach it you have to go through the Valle dei Ponti (Valley of Bridges), a deep fissure that connects the two parts of the city through four tall bridges that offer an absolutely spectacular view.

The Duomo di San Giorgio (Cathedral of St. George)

Piazza Duomo, the elephant fountain, the heart of the city

The church and the monastery

The triumph of Baroque: expansion of spaces

The senses tell the story of the Sanctuary Church of Santa Maria della Stella

The senses tell about Palazzo Trigona

The senses tell of Palazzo della Cancelleria

The senses tell about Palazzo Zacco

The Antonino Uccello Birthplace Museum

Luminous sacred spaces

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

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

The Palazzo dei due mori

The dynamics of the Church of San Michele

The senses tell the Church of San Domenico

City and nature

The church and the college

The casket of austerity under the great dome

The senses tell about Palazzo Beneventano

Militello: The story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The interior and works of art

Palazzo della Cancelleria: from former stable to the Nicastro family

The Church of St. John the Evangelist

The interiors: diffused light and Byzantine relics

The Church of St. Paul

Views denied, views conquered: the power of the devout Benedictines

A stone garden

A casket of precious works

Virtuosity, decorations and altars

The senses tell of the Cathedral of San Pietro

The Church of Madonna della Stella

The smallest Greek theatre in the world

The Infiorata of Noto, a modern tradition

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Paolo

The beginning of an authentic Baroque conception

The interior of the church: space and colour

St. Agatha and the candelore

Madonna of the Militia: a singular warrior virgin

The Church of St. Julian on Via dei Crociferi

Baroque and the loss of balance in the 16th century

Geometry and wonder in civic architecture in the Baroque of the Val di Noto

The Staircase of Angels

A new site for the church of San Giorgio

The Monastery of the Benedictine nuns

The Benedictines’ library

Unusual iconographies: the Burgos crucifix

The Church of St. Francis

The senses tell the Cathedral of San Giorgio

The Madonna dei Conadomini and the art of devotion

Fountain of the Nymph Zizza: public water in the town

The Franciscan convent

The church of San Nicolò l’Arena: the majesty of an unfinished beauty

The eagle-shaped city

Majestic exteriors, grandiose interiors

The illusion of light and the decorative splendour

The senses tell about Palazzo Ducezio

Scenography and devotion for St. Agatha

The senses tell the Benedictine Monastery and the Church of San Nicolò l’Arena

Scicli, the city of Baroque scenery

The Badia di Sant’Agata (St. Agatha’s Abbey)

Palazzo Trigona: a building with a complex shape

The articulated interior spaces

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The art of maiolica

Rebirth and urban planning of the city of Noto

The city within the city

Reconstruction after the earthquake

One city, three sites

The palace, the town, the church

Expansion, spatiality and light in the church of San Domenico

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The expansion of space and changing reality

Akrai and Syracuse: an unbreakable bond

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

The city palace

San Domenico and Gagliardi’s work

Art in the cathedral

From the end of the world to rebirth from the rubble

Verticality and dynamism of the façade of the Church of San Carlo

The two churches

The Church of St. Benedict

The senses tell the Church of San Michele

A story of rebirth

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

The new roads of the city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Carlo and the former Jesuit college

Barresi-Branciforte: the lords of the fiefdom and the modernisation of the town

The neo-Gothic seminary chapel: symbols, light and space

Expanded spaces, stucco and colourful lights

A unifying project for the city of Catania

Palazzo Trigona di Canicarao

Baroque creativity: recurring themes

The works in the church

Palazzo Zacco, a balance between sobriety and decoration

A compromise between Neoclassicism and Baroque

The Monte delle Prestanze in the new city layout

A heritage of votive works

Altars, saints and sculptural works

The freedom of worship and the Catholic Church’s role in the diffusion of Baroque

The city of Modica, a balance between nature and urbanism

The Church of St. Mary of the Mountain

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

Religious architecture

Scenography, lights and colours of the cathedral