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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The colours of the cathedral

A symbol for the town

Two illustrious patron saints

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

Wonderful quick decorations

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Many owners, one palace

Searching for colour

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The interior and its masterpieces

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

The Baroque town by the sea

A hall for the feasts

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Discovering the mother church

A majestic and luminous church

A feast only for Scicli

The Maiolica of the staircase

Prominent façade

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

New roads for Catania

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The church of Carmine

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

A city in colour

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

An eagle-shaped city

From International Gothic to present day

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A new site for a new church

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The theatre of taste

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Norman apses

The disastrous earthquake

A prominent church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The internal colours

A talking palace

A square as the heart of the city

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The city of museums

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Between white and black

The Burgos crucifix

The Staircase of Angels

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

Some masterpieces

A long reconstruction

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Limestone, the colour of harmony

One city, two sites

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

A small room with a golden entrance

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A triumph of colour

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A miniature city

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Some prestigious works

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Feast days

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A colourful floor

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The two churches

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The wall comes to life

One city, three sites

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The chocolate of Modica

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours