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 Giovanni Battista

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The church of Carmine

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Maiolica of the staircase

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A symbol for the town

Some masterpieces

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A feast only for Scicli

The disastrous earthquake

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The city of museums

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

A square as the heart of the city

Between white and black

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

Discovering the mother church

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The colours of the cathedral

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

The two churches

Prominent façade

An eagle-shaped city

A triumph of colour

A majestic and luminous church

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The Staircase of Angels

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A colourful floor

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Many owners, one palace

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A new site for a new church

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Feasting in Palazzolo

A half-Baroque church

Wonderful quick decorations

A prominent church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Baroque town by the sea

Some prestigious works

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The internal colours

Feast days

A small room with a golden entrance

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

St. Sebastian, so much work!

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

From International Gothic to present day

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

A long reconstruction

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The wall comes to life

The interior and its masterpieces

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

Two illustrious patron saints

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The chocolate of Modica

One city, three sites

Searching for colour

Norman apses

A miniature city

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A talking palace

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A city in colour

One city, two sites

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The theatre of taste

The Burgos crucifix