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

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

A city in colour

The internal colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The interior and its masterpieces

A museum to save a tradition

One city, three sites

The Staircase of Angels

Many owners, one palace

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

A majestic and luminous church

The chocolate of Modica

A new site for a new church

Prominent façade

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A new site for a new city

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A prominent church

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Two illustrious patron saints

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

A square as the heart of the city

Between white and black

The disastrous earthquake

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A feast only for Scicli

A symbol for the town

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A colourful floor

Searching for colour

The two churches

One city, two sites

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Norman apses

Wonderful quick decorations

The Baroque town by the sea

A triumph of colour

Feast days

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Some masterpieces

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The wall comes to life

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

From International Gothic to present day

A hall for the feasts

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

Some prestigious works

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The church of Carmine

A miniature city

An eagle-shaped city

The city of museums

The Burgos crucifix

A long reconstruction

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A small room with a golden entrance

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The colours of the cathedral

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The theatre of taste

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

A talking palace

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

New roads for Catania