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 new palace for the La Rocca lords

Searching for colour

One city, three sites

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A small room with a golden entrance

Discovering the mother church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

A miniature city

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The interior and its masterpieces

The city of museums

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

Norman apses

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The internal colours

A museum to save a tradition

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

A new site for a new church

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Some masterpieces

Two illustrious patron saints

Some prestigious works

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A long reconstruction

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Prominent façade

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Wonderful quick decorations

A symbol for the town

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Maiolica of the staircase

The Burgos crucifix

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The chocolate of Modica

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A new site for a new city

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

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

Feast days

The church of Carmine

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

New roads for Catania

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The two churches

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A feast only for Scicli

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

Between white and black

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A square as the heart of the city

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

A hall for the feasts

Many owners, one palace

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

An eagle-shaped city

The disastrous earthquake

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The theatre of taste

A triumph of colour

The wall comes to life

A majestic and luminous church

From International Gothic to present day

One city, two sites

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A city in colour

The colours of the cathedral

A prominent church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A colourful floor

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A talking palace