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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A colourful floor

A hall for the feasts

A long reconstruction

Discovering the mother church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

One city, two sites

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

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

A half-Baroque church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A triumph of colour

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Baroque town by the sea

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

One city, three sites

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Many owners, one palace

A talking palace

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

The church of Carmine

Prominent façade

A feast only for Scicli

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Some prestigious works

The city of museums

A new site for a new church

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

The two churches

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A square as the heart of the city

Feast days

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A miniature city

A prominent church

The theatre of taste

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The internal colours

The interior and its masterpieces

From International Gothic to present day

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Norman apses

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Burgos crucifix

The colours of the cathedral

The disastrous earthquake

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A museum to save a tradition

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A small room with a golden entrance

Searching for colour

A symbol for the town

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Some masterpieces

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

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

The chocolate of Modica

Two illustrious patron saints

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

An eagle-shaped city

New roads for Catania

A city in colour

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The wall comes to life

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Between white and black

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

A majestic and luminous church

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

A new site for a new city

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso