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.

Discovering the mother church

Feast days

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Staircase of Angels

From International Gothic to present day

The theatre of taste

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The interior and its masterpieces

An eagle-shaped city

The Burgos crucifix

The church of Carmine

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

A hall for the feasts

Prominent façade

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A new site for a new city

The two churches

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The wall comes to life

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

A miniature city

A majestic and luminous church

The internal colours

A small room with a golden entrance

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

A triumph of colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The city of museums

Searching for colour

A city in colour

One city, two sites

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The colours of the cathedral

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Between white and black

One city, three sites

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

Some masterpieces

Connections with other UNESCO sites

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Baroque town by the sea

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

Some prestigious works

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A half-Baroque church

A talking palace

Two illustrious patron saints

A square as the heart of the city

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

A prominent church

A new site for a new church

A symbol for the town

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

A museum to save a tradition

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Many owners, one palace

A feast only for Scicli

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Feasting in Palazzolo

A long reconstruction

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The disastrous earthquake

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

A colourful floor

Norman apses

The chocolate of Modica

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom