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 about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Two illustrious patron saints

A symbol for the town

The colours of the cathedral

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Prominent façade

Norman apses

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

A majestic and luminous church

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

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A new site for a new church

A city in colour

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A hall for the feasts

Many owners, one palace

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

An eagle-shaped city

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A small room with a golden entrance

A Nobel Prize in Modica

One city, three sites

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The wall comes to life

The Burgos crucifix

A museum to save a tradition

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

The city of museums

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A prominent church

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The church of Carmine

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

One city, two sites

The Baroque town by the sea

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

From International Gothic to present day

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The two churches

Some prestigious works

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A new site for a new city

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The disastrous earthquake

Wonderful quick decorations

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

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

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

The Staircase of Angels

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The interior and its masterpieces

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A talking palace

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Between white and black

A triumph of colour

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A miniature city

Searching for colour

The theatre of taste

A square as the heart of the city

Some masterpieces

The internal colours

Discovering the mother church

A long reconstruction

A colourful floor

A half-Baroque church

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The façade used as a puppet theatre

New roads for Catania

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A feast only for Scicli

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

Feast days