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 Nobel Prize in Modica

Prominent façade

A square as the heart of the city

A long reconstruction

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

Norman apses

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The wall comes to life

Some masterpieces

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A miniature city

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A triumph of colour

The city of museums

The internal colours

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The disastrous earthquake

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The chocolate of Modica

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

A talking palace

A feast only for Scicli

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

The theatre of taste

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The colours of the cathedral

Searching for colour

The Maiolica of the staircase

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Staircase of Angels

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

One city, three sites

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A half-Baroque church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A hall for the feasts

Feast days

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The two churches

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A city in colour

Wonderful quick decorations

Some prestigious works

One city, two sites

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Two illustrious patron saints

A majestic and luminous church

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

New roads for Catania

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

The Burgos crucifix

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A prominent church

From International Gothic to present day

Between white and black

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Discovering the mother church

A new site for a new church

The church of Carmine

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

Many owners, one palace

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

The Baroque town by the sea

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A symbol for the town

A colourful floor

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A small room with a golden entrance