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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

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

The disastrous earthquake

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Wonderful quick decorations

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

A new site for a new city

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

Between white and black

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Many owners, one palace

The internal colours

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

The two churches

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A miniature city

Two illustrious patron saints

The city of museums

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A museum to save a tradition

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A square as the heart of the city

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Burgos crucifix

A triumph of colour

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

The wall comes to life

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Some prestigious works

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Staircase of Angels

A majestic and luminous church

One city, two sites

A half-Baroque church

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The theatre of taste

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Prominent façade

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

Searching for colour

The Baroque town by the sea

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A small room with a golden entrance

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

New roads for Catania

A city in colour

The Maiolica of the staircase

One city, three sites

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A hall for the feasts

From International Gothic to present day

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

The colours of the cathedral

A symbol for the town

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A feast only for Scicli

The church of Carmine

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A prominent church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Some masterpieces

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A colourful floor

A new site for a new church

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The chocolate of Modica

Norman apses

Feast days

A talking palace

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A long reconstruction