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 Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A talking palace

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The colours of the cathedral

A half-Baroque church

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Searching for colour

A new site for a new church

A prominent church

A city in colour

The city of museums

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

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

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Discovering the mother church

New roads for Catania

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Prominent façade

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Baroque town by the sea

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Two illustrious patron saints

A majestic and luminous church

One city, three sites

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

A miniature city

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A long reconstruction

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

The two churches

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

A symbol for the town

A hall for the feasts

The Maiolica of the staircase

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

The disastrous earthquake

An eagle-shaped city

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

From International Gothic to present day

One city, two sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

The theatre of taste

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A small room with a golden entrance

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

Between white and black

The wall comes to life

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The interior and its masterpieces

A square as the heart of the city

The Burgos crucifix

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The church of Carmine

A triumph of colour

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The chocolate of Modica

Feast days

The internal colours

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

Wonderful quick decorations

Many owners, one palace

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A museum to save a tradition

A new site for a new city

A colourful floor

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Some prestigious works

Norman apses

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)