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 disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The wall comes to life

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

One city, two sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A talking palace

A long reconstruction

A symbol for the town

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

Between white and black

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Two illustrious patron saints

The Staircase of Angels

A new site for a new church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A museum to save a tradition

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A feast only for Scicli

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Searching for colour

The Baroque town by the sea

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

The two churches

A prominent church

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

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

A small room with a golden entrance

Discovering the mother church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

An eagle-shaped city

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The interior and its masterpieces

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Norman apses

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

Some prestigious works

Feast days

Wonderful quick decorations

The theatre of taste

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

New roads for Catania

A triumph of colour

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Prominent façade

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A half-Baroque church

The colours of the cathedral

A city in colour

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Maiolica of the staircase

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A majestic and luminous church

A square as the heart of the city

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

The city of museums

The church of Carmine

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A miniature city

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A new site for a new city

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A Nobel Prize in Modica

One city, three sites

A colourful floor

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

Many owners, one palace

The internal colours

From International Gothic to present day

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Some masterpieces