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 half-Baroque church

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A colourful floor

The colours of the cathedral

One city, three sites

A new site for a new church

The interior and its masterpieces

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

A prominent church

A triumph of colour

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

Norman apses

A majestic and luminous church

A hall for the feasts

The theatre of taste

The two churches

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Discovering the mother church

The Maiolica of the staircase

Two illustrious patron saints

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

New roads for Catania

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

The Staircase of Angels

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A long reconstruction

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Baroque town by the sea

Some masterpieces

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A new site for a new city

An eagle-shaped city

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A miniature city

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A symbol for the town

The internal colours

One city, two sites

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

A square as the heart of the city

Prominent façade

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The disastrous earthquake

A city in colour

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

The church of Carmine

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A feast only for Scicli

A museum to save a tradition

A small room with a golden entrance

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Some prestigious works

Searching for colour

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The wall comes to life

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A talking palace

From International Gothic to present day

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The city of museums

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

Feast days

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Wonderful quick decorations

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The chocolate of Modica

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

Between white and black

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra