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 city of museums

A prominent church

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

Wonderful quick decorations

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

Searching for colour

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

From International Gothic to present day

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

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Some prestigious works

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The two churches

The Baroque town by the sea

Many owners, one palace

A talking palace

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A feast only for Scicli

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

New roads for Catania

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A colourful floor

Norman apses

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The theatre of taste

An eagle-shaped city

A symbol for the town

Feast days

A long reconstruction

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The internal colours

A new site for a new church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The interior and its masterpieces

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

The Burgos crucifix

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

A triumph of colour

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

The chocolate of Modica

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A half-Baroque church

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Discovering the mother church

Modica, a city with ancient origins

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Between white and black

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Feasting in Palazzolo

A city in colour

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A small room with a golden entrance

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Maiolica of the staircase

A hall for the feasts

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The wall comes to life

Some masterpieces

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A miniature city

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Two illustrious patron saints

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A majestic and luminous church

The Staircase of Angels

A new site for a new city

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

One city, three sites

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A square as the heart of the city

The colours of the cathedral

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

One city, two sites

The church of Carmine

Prominent façade

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?