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

A square as the heart of the city

A museum to save a tradition

Norman apses

One city, two sites

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

A small room with a golden entrance

Feast days

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

From International Gothic to present day

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The disastrous earthquake

Some prestigious works

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

A talking palace

A city in colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The wall comes to life

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

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

New roads for Catania

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The colours of the cathedral

A symbol for the town

A half-Baroque church

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The theatre of taste

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A colourful floor

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The church of Carmine

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Searching for colour

The city of museums

A long reconstruction

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A majestic and luminous church

A hall for the feasts

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Staircase of Angels

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Discovering the mother church

The chocolate of Modica

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Two illustrious patron saints

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The interior and its masterpieces

The internal colours

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Between white and black

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A miniature city

The two churches

An eagle-shaped city

A prominent church

Some masterpieces

The Burgos crucifix

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Wonderful quick decorations

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A triumph of colour

A new site for a new church

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A new site for a new city

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A feast only for Scicli

Prominent façade

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

One city, three sites