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 talking palace

The city of museums

The chocolate of Modica

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A majestic and luminous church

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Searching for colour

A triumph of colour

A feast only for Scicli

A colourful floor

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A symbol for the town

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

The wall comes to life

Feasting in Palazzolo

A miniature city

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Wonderful quick decorations

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

The two churches

New roads for Catania

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

Some masterpieces

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The theatre of taste

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

From International Gothic to present day

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The church of Carmine

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Maiolica of the staircase

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

St. Sebastian, so much work!

One city, two sites

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

Prominent façade

A new site for a new city

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A half-Baroque church

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A new site for a new church

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

A city in colour

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

Some prestigious works

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Staircase of Angels

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Between white and black

An eagle-shaped city

A square as the heart of the city

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

A hall for the feasts

Discovering the mother church

The disastrous earthquake

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

The colours of the cathedral

Many owners, one palace

A museum to save a tradition

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Baroque town by the sea

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Norman apses

A prominent church

Two illustrious patron saints

A small room with a golden entrance

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The interior and its masterpieces

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Feast days

The internal colours

One city, three sites