Ragusa

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Nature and architecture blend perfectly in Ragusa. Construction adapted to the environment in a surprising way. It was the result of careful planning involving many architects, engineers and foremen.
Each made a valuable contribution, though unfortunately it is not always possible to acknowledge everyone who worked on the project (such as the workers). Fortunately this is not the case for the “maestro of the Val di Noto”, Rosario Gagliardi.
He was perhaps the most creative 18th-century Sicilian architect, and was certainly the most innovative. He proposed a Baroque style that started with the basic rules then became something more beautiful and newer. His designs always took into account the context of the town, where it was and what was around it.foto facciata duomo This way, the buildings of the towns he built fit perfectly into the space.
He invented the tower façade, a façade that ended with a tower and bells, like the cathedral of San Giorgio (St. George) in Ragusa Ibla.
In his eyes, architecture was not only a useful discipline for constructing and designing a building, it also had to be able to arouse emotion. For this reason he placed sculptural decorations on the walls that added life and expression to his façades.
Unfortunately, not all of his ideas could be executed; Gagliardi had to be mindful of the economic factor and the money at his disposal.This was not, however, an obstacle to his imagination. Using his skill, the architect always managed to work and combine economic and aesthetic factors.

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The wall comes to life

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The two churches

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

A majestic and luminous church

A long reconstruction

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

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

A square as the heart of the city

A Nobel Prize in Modica

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The interior and its masterpieces

Wonderful quick decorations

The Maiolica of the staircase

Limestone, the colour of harmony

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A triumph of colour

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A city in colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The chocolate of Modica

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The disastrous earthquake

The Staircase of Angels

The theatre of taste

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A new site for a new city

Norman apses

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A new site for a new church

Prominent façade

From International Gothic to present day

A small room with a golden entrance

Feast days

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A prominent church

A talking palace

A feast only for Scicli

A half-Baroque church

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A symbol for the town

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Two illustrious patron saints

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The internal colours

A colourful floor

Searching for colour

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

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

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

An eagle-shaped city

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Some masterpieces

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The colours of the cathedral

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

One city, three sites

A museum to save a tradition

One city, two sites

The façade used as a puppet theatre

New roads for Catania

The city of museums

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

Many owners, one palace

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

Between white and black

A miniature city

Feasting in Palazzolo

A hall for the feasts

The church of Carmine

Some prestigious works

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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