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

A long reconstruction

Discovering the mother church

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

A museum to save a tradition

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The internal colours

The colours of the cathedral

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Maiolica of the staircase

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Searching for colour

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A city in colour

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The Baroque town by the sea

The wall comes to life

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A new site for a new city

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

An eagle-shaped city

The church of Carmine

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A new site for a new church

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Norman apses

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Burgos crucifix

One city, two sites

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

A symbol for the town

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Some prestigious works

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Two illustrious patron saints

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Some masterpieces

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Staircase of Angels

The interior and its masterpieces

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The chocolate of Modica

One city, three sites

Prominent façade

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A colourful floor

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

A half-Baroque church

A feast only for Scicli

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Wonderful quick decorations

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The theatre of taste

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A square as the heart of the city

A triumph of colour

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A small room with a golden entrance

Many owners, one palace

Feast days

New roads for Catania

A majestic and luminous church

From International Gothic to present day

A prominent church

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

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

A talking palace

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The city of museums

Between white and black

A hall for the feasts

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The two churches

A miniature city

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe