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 San Giuseppe

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

One city, two sites

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Many owners, one palace

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

New roads for Catania

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Baroque town by the sea

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

A new site for a new church

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The disastrous earthquake

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

A square as the heart of the city

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

Prominent façade

A feast only for Scicli

An eagle-shaped city

The church of Carmine

Between white and black

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A half-Baroque church

Feast days

The internal colours

The city of museums

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A miniature city

A museum to save a tradition

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A majestic and luminous church

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

From International Gothic to present day

The wall comes to life

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Wonderful quick decorations

One city, three sites

A symbol for the town

Some masterpieces

A city in colour

The interior and its masterpieces

The Staircase of Angels

A talking palace

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The two churches

A prominent church

A hall for the feasts

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Norman apses

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A long reconstruction

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A new site for a new city

Discovering the mother church

The colours of the cathedral

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A small room with a golden entrance

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The theatre of taste

A colourful floor

Searching for colour

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Burgos crucifix

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The chocolate of Modica

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A triumph of colour

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

Some prestigious works