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

A city in colour

A new site for a new church

A talking palace

A new site for a new city

A half-Baroque church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Many owners, one palace

The colours of the cathedral

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Baroque town by the sea

Discovering the mother church

The Maiolica of the staircase

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

A miniature city

The chocolate of Modica

The Staircase of Angels

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A colourful floor

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A square as the heart of the city

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

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A museum to save a tradition

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Two illustrious patron saints

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Some prestigious works

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Prominent façade

One city, three sites

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The theatre of taste

The disastrous earthquake

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Burgos crucifix

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Some masterpieces

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

One city, two sites

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A feast only for Scicli

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

The interior and its masterpieces

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

An eagle-shaped city

The internal colours

Feast days

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

Wonderful quick decorations

The two churches

A triumph of colour

Searching for colour

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

A long reconstruction

Between white and black

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The wall comes to life

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

Norman apses

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

New roads for Catania

A prominent church

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A hall for the feasts

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A symbol for the town

The church of Carmine

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

From International Gothic to present day

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The city of museums

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A new palace for the La Rocca lords