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 the Annunciation

One city, two sites

A symbol for the town

The wall comes to life

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Many owners, one palace

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Between white and black

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A feast only for Scicli

A talking palace

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A prominent church

Feast days

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

An eagle-shaped city

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Discovering the mother church

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Norman apses

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The internal colours

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Searching for colour

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The city of museums

A colourful floor

A square as the heart of the city

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Baroque town by the sea

A city in colour

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

The two churches

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A majestic and luminous church

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

Prominent façade

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Two illustrious patron saints

A small room with a golden entrance

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

Some masterpieces

Some prestigious works

Feasting in Palazzolo

A long reconstruction

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Staircase of Angels

A half-Baroque church

The Burgos crucifix

One city, three sites

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The chocolate of Modica

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

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

The church of Carmine

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The theatre of taste

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

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A museum to save a tradition

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The disastrous earthquake

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

From International Gothic to present day

A miniature city

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A new site for a new church

A triumph of colour

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A new site for a new city

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