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 Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A new site for a new church

A hall for the feasts

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

From International Gothic to present day

The disastrous earthquake

Norman apses

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

One city, two sites

A miniature city

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A square as the heart of the city

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A triumph of colour

A majestic and luminous church

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

A museum to save a tradition

A half-Baroque church

Searching for colour

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The church of Carmine

A feast only for Scicli

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The two churches

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

Many owners, one palace

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Prominent façade

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A prominent church

The Baroque town by the sea

A small room with a golden entrance

Feast days

The Burgos crucifix

Two illustrious patron saints

The city of museums

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A symbol for the town

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Some prestigious works

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

An eagle-shaped city

A long reconstruction

Some masterpieces

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A city in colour

Feasting in Palazzolo

A colourful floor

The interior and its masterpieces

The colours of the cathedral

The chocolate of Modica

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Between white and black

One city, three sites

The wall comes to life

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Staircase of Angels

The theatre of taste

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

Discovering the mother church

The Maiolica of the staircase

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The internal colours

A talking palace