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

One city, three sites

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A new site for a new church

A small room with a golden entrance

A feast only for Scicli

A hall for the feasts

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Wonderful quick decorations

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A majestic and luminous church

A colourful floor

The interior and its masterpieces

A triumph of colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A miniature city

Feast days

Discovering the mother church

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Many owners, one palace

The two churches

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A new site for a new city

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

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

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The chocolate of Modica

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

Norman apses

The city of museums

An eagle-shaped city

The colours of the cathedral

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Between white and black

The Baroque town by the sea

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The theatre of taste

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The disastrous earthquake

A long reconstruction

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Searching for colour

Prominent façade

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The Staircase of Angels

A half-Baroque church

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

From International Gothic to present day

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

Some masterpieces

A symbol for the town

The church of Carmine

A prominent church

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Two illustrious patron saints

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

One city, two sites

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Some prestigious works

A museum to save a tradition

A city in colour

A square as the heart of the city

The Burgos crucifix

The internal colours

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The wall comes to life

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A talking palace

Connections with other UNESCO sites