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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

From International Gothic to present day

The internal colours

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

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

The interior and its masterpieces

A prominent church

A symbol for the town

The Maiolica of the staircase

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

The Baroque town by the sea

The Burgos crucifix

A new site for a new city

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Staircase of Angels

A talking palace

Some masterpieces

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Norman apses

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A triumph of colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

A hall for the feasts

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Prominent façade

An eagle-shaped city

Feast days

The city of museums

Feasting in Palazzolo

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A miniature city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A square as the heart of the city

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Searching for colour

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

A long reconstruction

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Between white and black

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The two churches

A new site for a new church

Wonderful quick decorations

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

One city, two sites

A colourful floor

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A city in colour

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

New roads for Catania

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Some prestigious works

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

One city, three sites

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The church of Carmine

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Discovering the mother church

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The chocolate of Modica

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

A half-Baroque church

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

A small room with a golden entrance

The wall comes to life

Many owners, one palace

The theatre of taste

A feast only for Scicli

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The disastrous earthquake