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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A half-Baroque church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The city of museums

One city, three sites

A symbol for the town

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

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

The wall comes to life

Wonderful quick decorations

The church of Carmine

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

A hall for the feasts

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Many owners, one palace

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Between white and black

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A triumph of colour

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

A majestic and luminous church

A miniature city

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

The internal colours

The Baroque town by the sea

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The disastrous earthquake

Some prestigious works

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

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A new site for a new church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The chocolate of Modica

The two churches

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Searching for colour

A long reconstruction

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A square as the heart of the city

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

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

The interior and its masterpieces

Prominent façade

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A talking palace

Limestone, the colour of harmony

An eagle-shaped city

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Norman apses

A feast only for Scicli

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

One city, two sites

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A small room with a golden entrance

A new site for a new city

A city in colour

Feasting in Palazzolo

New roads for Catania

Some masterpieces

The Maiolica of the staircase

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Discovering the mother church

Feast days

The theatre of taste

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A colourful floor

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A museum to save a tradition

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A prominent church

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The façade used as a puppet theatre

From International Gothic to present day

The Burgos crucifix