Ragusa

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The church of San Giuseppe (St. Joseph) is located on the corner of Piazza Pola, near the Cathedral of San Giorgio (St. George) in Ibla.foto della piazza che inquadra la chiesa It was built after 1756, when the Benedictine nuns of the nearby convent, led by the abbess Battistina Maria Arezzo, bought the old dilapidated church of San Tommaso Apostolo (Thomas the Apostle). Thanks to them, reconstruction work began for the new church of San Giuseppe (St. Joseph).
The church building was built first, completed in 1774, followed by the demolition of the bell tower and the completion of the external and internal decorations. Foto facciata Initially the design for the new church was attributed to the great architect Rosario Gagliardi because of similarities with his other work, such as the Cathedral of San Giorgio (St. George) and the church of San Domenico (St. Dominic) in Noto. They all featured a horizontal division into three levels, with the final level containing the bell, but opinions have changed over the years and following more in-depth studies. Work by another architect, the Carmelite Friar Alberto Maria di San Giovanni Battista, who worked not only in Ragusa but also on the church of San Giovanni Evangelista (St. John the Evangelist) in Scicli, has a less innovative style than Gagliardi and is more similar to local artistic culture.
Well over seventy years later, Ibla and the Benedictine convent had a functioning new church, enjoyed by nuns and worshippers.
foto Facciata frontale

Some prestigious works

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

One city, three sites

The wall comes to life

A talking palace

The Staircase of Angels

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

A triumph of colour

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A museum to save a tradition

A hall for the feasts

Feast days

The two churches

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Prominent façade

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A colourful floor

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

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

Some masterpieces

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A new site for a new city

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

From International Gothic to present day

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

One city, two sites

The Maiolica of the staircase

Two illustrious patron saints

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

An eagle-shaped city

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The interior and its masterpieces

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The colours of the cathedral

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The internal colours

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A square as the heart of the city

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A symbol for the town

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Between white and black

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The city of museums

Wonderful quick decorations

The Burgos crucifix

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The chocolate of Modica

The church of Carmine

A prominent church

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A half-Baroque church

Discovering the mother church

Searching for colour

The Baroque town by the sea

A majestic and luminous church

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

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

A feast only for Scicli

Norman apses

The theatre of taste

A new site for a new church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A miniature city

The disastrous earthquake

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A small room with a golden entrance

Many owners, one palace