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

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A colourful floor

A new site for a new church

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A square as the heart of the city

A museum to save a tradition

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

One city, two sites

A small room with a golden entrance

Feast days

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

An eagle-shaped city

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

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

A majestic and luminous church

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

One city, three sites

The city of museums

Two illustrious patron saints

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The church of Carmine

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A miniature city

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Wonderful quick decorations

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

Many owners, one palace

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

Discovering the mother church

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The internal colours

The Staircase of Angels

The wall comes to life

A hall for the feasts

A symbol for the town

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A triumph of colour

A feast only for Scicli

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

The colours of the cathedral

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The chocolate of Modica

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Baroque town by the sea

Some masterpieces

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Burgos crucifix

A long reconstruction

The two churches

Searching for colour

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The interior and its masterpieces

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

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

From International Gothic to present day

The disastrous earthquake

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

The theatre of taste

New roads for Catania

A new site for a new city

Some prestigious works

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Prominent façade

A prominent church

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Between white and black

Norman apses

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A talking palace

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Connections with other UNESCO sites