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

Wonderful quick decorations

A miniature city

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

The two churches

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The interior and its masterpieces

A square as the heart of the city

Prominent façade

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A symbol for the town

A hall for the feasts

One city, three sites

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

A colourful floor

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Searching for colour

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Burgos crucifix

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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 Giovanni Battista

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Baroque town by the sea

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A small room with a golden entrance

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Staircase of Angels

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

A new site for a new city

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A museum to save a tradition

The chocolate of Modica

The internal colours

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

The disastrous earthquake

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

A majestic and luminous church

Feast days

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A triumph of colour

A talking palace

The wall comes to life

New roads for Catania

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A feast only for Scicli

A new site for a new church

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

A long reconstruction

Discovering the mother church

Feasting in Palazzolo

Norman apses

Some masterpieces

One city, two sites

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The theatre of taste

The colours of the cathedral

The city of museums

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A half-Baroque church

From International Gothic to present day

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The church of Carmine

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A city in colour

The Maiolica of the staircase

Some prestigious works

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Between white and black

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A prominent church

Two illustrious patron saints

The Barresi-Branciforte lords