Ragusa

Searching for colour

The interior of the church of San Giuseppe (St. Joseph) is a single large oval-shaped room.
The Friar Alberto Maria di San Giovanni Battista most likely took inspiration for its floor plan from the church of Santa Chiara (St. Claire) in Noto.
The architect friar had two entrances built, one from Piazza Pola and the other directly from the convent for access by the nuns. As you enter the church you are surprised and overwhelmed by its very high ceiling, an effect achieved thanks to the majestic dome and the four windows that fill the space with light.
Ingresso verso l’altare foto dal basso verso l’alto della cupola
As for the walls, they were left white with some golden stucco decoration.
This pallor, however, is immediately broken up by four colourful altars placed along the walls, the painting on the high altar and the vault fresco.

zoom affresco della volta
affresco della volta

The painting with the Holy Family was created by painter Matteo Battaglia from Ragusa and the fresco with the Glory of St. Benedict is the work of Sebastiano Lo Monaco, an artist from Catania.
To add colour to the room, and to create a strong contrast with the white walls, black pietra pece was used for the floor, which features a white limestone decoration.
uno degli altari sulle pareti pavimento

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Some masterpieces

Discovering the mother church

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The city of museums

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Some prestigious works

Two illustrious patron saints

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

A new site for a new church

One city, three sites

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A long reconstruction

A city in colour

Wonderful quick decorations

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A miniature city

A small room with a golden entrance

Between white and black

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Norman apses

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A talking palace

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

The theatre of taste

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Prominent façade

The Staircase of Angels

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Many owners, one palace

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

An eagle-shaped city

A half-Baroque church

A symbol for the town

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The two churches

Searching for colour

A prominent church

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Baroque town by the sea

The Maiolica of the staircase

A square as the heart of the city

The disastrous earthquake

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A museum to save a tradition

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The church of Carmine

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

Feast days

The internal colours

The chocolate of Modica

The interior and its masterpieces

A colourful floor

A new site for a new city

The wall comes to life

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

One city, two sites

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The colours of the cathedral

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Feasting in Palazzolo

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A hall for the feasts

A feast only for Scicli

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

From International Gothic to present day

New roads for Catania

A triumph of colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto