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 long reconstruction

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Modica, a city with ancient origins

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

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

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Some masterpieces

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

One city, three sites

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

The colours of the cathedral

Norman apses

An eagle-shaped city

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A city in colour

The disastrous earthquake

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The theatre of taste

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A half-Baroque church

Some prestigious works

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A small room with a golden entrance

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A hall for the feasts

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The interior and its masterpieces

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Two illustrious patron saints

Feasting in Palazzolo

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A miniature city

A new site for a new city

A museum to save a tradition

A talking palace

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A colourful floor

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

The wall comes to life

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

New roads for Catania

A square as the heart of the city

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The chocolate of Modica

Wonderful quick decorations

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A symbol for the town

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Discovering the mother church

Many owners, one palace

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Baroque town by the sea

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The city of museums

The church of Carmine

A triumph of colour

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A majestic and luminous church

The two churches

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

Between white and black

Prominent façade

Feast days

A new site for a new church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Staircase of Angels

The Burgos crucifix

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

A prominent church

The internal colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

One city, two sites

Searching for colour