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

An eagle-shaped city

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

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

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Feasting in Palazzolo

The interior and its masterpieces

The wall comes to life

A colourful floor

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A new site for a new church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The disastrous earthquake

From International Gothic to present day

A museum to save a tradition

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

The city of museums

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A half-Baroque church

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Some masterpieces

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

A triumph of colour

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A prominent church

A miniature city

Searching for colour

A city in colour

Discovering the mother church

Wonderful quick decorations

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Some prestigious works

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The chocolate of Modica

The colours of the cathedral

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Burgos crucifix

A new site for a new city

A symbol for the town

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

One city, two sites

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Modica, a city with ancient origins

New roads for Catania

The internal colours

A feast only for Scicli

A majestic and luminous church

Between white and black

A talking palace

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Two illustrious patron saints

The Baroque town by the sea

A long reconstruction

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The two churches

Prominent façade

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

A square as the heart of the city

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A hall for the feasts

Feast days

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The church of Carmine

The theatre of taste

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

One city, three sites

Norman apses

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A small room with a golden entrance

Many owners, one palace