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 hall for the feasts

From International Gothic to present day

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

A feast only for Scicli

A long reconstruction

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Feast days

One city, two sites

The two churches

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Discovering the mother church

The Maiolica of the staircase

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The wall comes to life

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A new site for a new church

Prominent façade

A triumph of colour

Some masterpieces

An eagle-shaped city

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Searching for colour

A colourful floor

The theatre of taste

The Baroque town by the sea

A miniature city

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Norman apses

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The church of Carmine

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A half-Baroque church

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

A prominent church

The Burgos crucifix

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

New roads for Catania

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The city of museums

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A museum to save a tradition

A majestic and luminous church

The Staircase of Angels

Feasting in Palazzolo

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

One city, three sites

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

Between white and black

The chocolate of Modica

The internal colours

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The interior and its masterpieces

A symbol for the town

Wonderful quick decorations

A new site for a new city

Some prestigious works

The disastrous earthquake

A city in colour

The colours of the cathedral

A talking palace

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family