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 majestic and luminous church

A square as the heart of the city

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Norman apses

A triumph of colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

An eagle-shaped city

Between white and black

A symbol for the town

The city of museums

Prominent façade

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Many owners, one palace

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The colours of the cathedral

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Some prestigious works

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

New roads for Catania

The disastrous earthquake

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

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

The two churches

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

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

A colourful floor

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Feasting in Palazzolo

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The façade used as a puppet theatre

One city, three sites

The chocolate of Modica

Some masterpieces

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A museum to save a tradition

Searching for colour

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

A prominent church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Discovering the mother church

The Baroque town by the sea

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A feast only for Scicli

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

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

A hall for the feasts

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A new site for a new church

The church of Carmine

A new site for a new city

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The theatre of taste

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A miniature city

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The wall comes to life

Wonderful quick decorations

One city, two sites

A long reconstruction

A talking palace

A small room with a golden entrance

A city in colour

The internal colours

Two illustrious patron saints

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Staircase of Angels

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

From International Gothic to present day

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

A half-Baroque church

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Feast days

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