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 chocolate of Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A talking palace

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Wonderful quick decorations

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Feasting in Palazzolo

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A new site for a new city

Some masterpieces

A long reconstruction

An eagle-shaped city

A city in colour

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

A symbol for the town

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A new site for a new church

A miniature city

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A half-Baroque church

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A hall for the feasts

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Baroque town by the sea

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

One city, two sites

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Searching for colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The colours of the cathedral

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The city of museums

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The interior and its masterpieces

The theatre of taste

New roads for Catania

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Feast days

The Staircase of Angels

One city, three sites

Two illustrious patron saints

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The church of Carmine

A square as the heart of the city

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

A colourful floor

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A majestic and luminous church

The Burgos crucifix

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The two churches

Some prestigious works

From International Gothic to present day

Discovering the mother church

The internal colours

Between white and black

The wall comes to life

Many owners, one palace

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

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

Norman apses

A prominent church

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Prominent façade

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Maiolica of the staircase

A triumph of colour