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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The two churches

A miniature city

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Some prestigious works

The church of Carmine

Searching for colour

A colourful floor

A hall for the feasts

The interior and its masterpieces

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The theatre of taste

The city of museums

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The disastrous earthquake

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A small room with a golden entrance

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

New roads for Catania

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The internal colours

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A museum to save a tradition

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

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

A city in colour

From International Gothic to present day

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

The chocolate of Modica

Feast days

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

One city, two sites

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A new site for a new church

The Baroque town by the sea

An eagle-shaped city

A feast only for Scicli

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

The Burgos crucifix

Discovering the mother church

Many owners, one palace

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The colours of the cathedral

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

Wonderful quick decorations

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A triumph of colour

A talking palace

A square as the heart of the city

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The wall comes to life

Prominent façade

Some masterpieces

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Modica, a city with ancient origins

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A symbol for the town

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

A prominent church

Norman apses

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A half-Baroque church

The Staircase of Angels

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Feasting in Palazzolo

Between white and black

One city, three sites