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.

A talking palace

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The wall comes to life

Some prestigious works

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The façade used as a puppet theatre

One city, two sites

Searching for colour

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A miniature city

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Maiolica of the staircase

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A symbol for the town

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

A museum to save a tradition

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A long reconstruction

The church of Carmine

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The two churches

A city in colour

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

New roads for Catania

A square as the heart of the city

A colourful floor

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The internal colours

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A hall for the feasts

A small room with a golden entrance

Prominent façade

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Burgos crucifix

The Baroque town by the sea

The Staircase of Angels

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

Wonderful quick decorations

A feast only for Scicli

One city, three sites

From International Gothic to present day

A prominent church

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

A new site for a new city

Some masterpieces

A half-Baroque church

Feast days

A new site for a new church

Between white and black

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A triumph of colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The chocolate of Modica

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Norman apses

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Two illustrious patron saints

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

The interior and its masterpieces

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Many owners, one palace

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

An eagle-shaped city

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A majestic and luminous church

The city of museums

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The theatre of taste