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

Many owners, one palace

A long reconstruction

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Wonderful quick decorations

A majestic and luminous church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

One city, three sites

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

A talking palace

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The theatre of taste

A feast only for Scicli

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The wall comes to life

A hall for the feasts

Searching for colour

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Feast days

The interior and its masterpieces

The disastrous earthquake

Some prestigious works

The two churches

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A half-Baroque church

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Norman apses

Some masterpieces

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Burgos crucifix

The chocolate of Modica

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

A symbol for the town

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

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

The church of Carmine

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

One city, two sites

A miniature city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A colourful floor

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

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The internal colours

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Staircase of Angels

Between white and black

An eagle-shaped city

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A museum to save a tradition

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A city in colour

A small room with a golden entrance

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

Prominent façade

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The Maiolica of the staircase

New roads for Catania

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

From International Gothic to present day

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A prominent church

A new site for a new city

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A triumph of colour

A new site for a new church

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Two illustrious patron saints

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

A square as the heart of the city

The city of museums

The colours of the cathedral