Ragusa

Prominent façade

zoom La chiesa di San Giuseppe
La chiesa di San Giuseppe

The church of San Giuseppe (St. Joseph) is small and occupies a much smaller space than large cathedrals. This, however, did not prevent it from featuring prominently in the square. This was made possible by the design choices of the Friar Alberto Maria di San Giovanni Battista.
The façade of the new building was built further back than the previous church of San Tommaso (St. Thomas) to make it more visible from the street.
The façade is divided into three levels: in the first there is the entrance portal, on the second a louvre window , and the third acts as a bell tower.
This means that the different levels are different in size; the tallest segment contains the portal, followed by the middle and end segments.
The division, however, is not only horizontal; the free-standing columns and pilasters , resting on high bases divide the façade into three vertical parts.
This creates a play of light and shadow that seems to make the façade move; the architect achieved this effect using various decorative elements in relief and a design that sees the central part protrude further than the side sections.
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Six statues of Benedictine saints were placed on the façade: two bishop saints were placed to the sides of the portal, St. Gertrude and Scholastica on the lateral sections, and St. Benedict and St. Maurus on the second level.
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The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A half-Baroque church

Wonderful quick decorations

The chocolate of Modica

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Some masterpieces

The Maiolica of the staircase

Prominent façade

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Searching for colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A symbol for the town

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A majestic and luminous church

The wall comes to life

A museum to save a tradition

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Feast days

From International Gothic to present day

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

Norman apses

The city of museums

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A talking palace

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The internal colours

A new site for a new church

A miniature city

A feast only for Scicli

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Many owners, one palace

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The church of Carmine

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

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

The Staircase of Angels

The two churches

The colours of the cathedral

The disastrous earthquake

A colourful floor

New roads for Catania

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A triumph of colour

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

A prominent church

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Burgos crucifix

One city, two sites

Two illustrious patron saints

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A city in colour

Some prestigious works

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

One city, three sites

Between white and black

The Baroque town by the sea

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A square as the heart of the city

The interior and its masterpieces

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

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A hall for the feasts

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The theatre of taste

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Discovering the mother church

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 senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A long reconstruction

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A new site for a new city

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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