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

Feasting in Palazzolo

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A half-Baroque church

Discovering the mother church

An eagle-shaped city

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A feast only for Scicli

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A triumph of colour

New roads for Catania

The city of museums

The internal colours

One city, three sites

Some prestigious works

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Some masterpieces

A talking palace

From International Gothic to present day

A colourful floor

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

A new site for a new church

Between white and black

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The disastrous earthquake

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A long reconstruction

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Prominent façade

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A majestic and luminous church

One city, two sites

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A city in colour

The theatre of taste

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

A symbol for the town

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Two illustrious patron saints

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Searching for colour

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Wonderful quick decorations

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

A new site for a new city

Many owners, one palace

The Staircase of Angels

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Feast days

The colours of the cathedral

A small room with a golden entrance

The Burgos crucifix

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A museum to save a tradition

The interior and its masterpieces

The two churches

Norman apses

A prominent church

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

The Baroque town by the sea

The church of Carmine

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A square as the heart of the city

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The chocolate of Modica

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A hall for the feasts

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

A miniature city

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

The Maiolica of the staircase