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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The two churches

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

Wonderful quick decorations

A museum to save a tradition

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

New roads for Catania

Some masterpieces

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Searching for colour

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Norman apses

The church of Carmine

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A new site for a new city

The Staircase of Angels

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A majestic and luminous church

A new site for a new church

A hall for the feasts

The chocolate of Modica

A miniature city

From International Gothic to present day

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Discovering the mother church

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A feast only for Scicli

Prominent façade

One city, two sites

A symbol for the town

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A square as the heart of the city

A triumph of colour

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

An eagle-shaped city

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A colourful floor

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Many owners, one palace

A small room with a golden entrance

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Burgos crucifix

Two illustrious patron saints

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

Some prestigious works

A city in colour

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Between white and black

A prominent church

The colours of the cathedral

The internal colours

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

A talking palace

One city, three sites

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The theatre of taste

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

A half-Baroque church

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The city of museums

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Feast days

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

The Baroque town by the sea

The interior and its masterpieces

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

The disastrous earthquake

A long reconstruction

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town