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 senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

The interior and its masterpieces

A small room with a golden entrance

A new site for a new city

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The two churches

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The internal colours

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Burgos crucifix

Norman apses

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

A symbol for the town

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A feast only for Scicli

A colourful floor

A half-Baroque church

Feasting in Palazzolo

A museum to save a tradition

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

Many owners, one palace

Wonderful quick decorations

The colours of the cathedral

One city, three sites

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The Staircase of Angels

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Two illustrious patron saints

The city of museums

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

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

A prominent church

A city in colour

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The disastrous earthquake

The Baroque town by the sea

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The theatre of taste

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Searching for colour

A new site for a new church

A miniature city

Some masterpieces

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

An eagle-shaped city

Some prestigious works

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

The wall comes to life

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A majestic and luminous church

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A talking palace

A long reconstruction

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

One city, two sites

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

New roads for Catania

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

A triumph of colour

Feast days

Prominent façade

Between white and black

Discovering the mother church

The church of Carmine

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

The chocolate of Modica

From International Gothic to present day

A hall for the feasts

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara