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 senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Norman apses

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

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Searching for colour

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Discovering the mother church

A small room with a golden entrance

Feast days

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Burgos crucifix

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A talking palace

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

A majestic and luminous church

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A city in colour

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

The colours of the cathedral

New roads for Catania

Wonderful quick decorations

An eagle-shaped city

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

Some masterpieces

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A colourful floor

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Some prestigious works

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The disastrous earthquake

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

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A museum to save a tradition

The city of museums

Prominent façade

The Baroque town by the sea

A symbol for the town

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Two illustrious patron saints

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

From International Gothic to present day

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A prominent church

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Between white and black

The wall comes to life

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

One city, three sites

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Staircase of Angels

A square as the heart of the city

A half-Baroque church

A new site for a new city

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

One city, two sites

A triumph of colour

A miniature city

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Many owners, one palace

The interior and its masterpieces

A new site for a new church

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

The theatre of taste

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A feast only for Scicli

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A hall for the feasts

A long reconstruction

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The two churches

The internal colours

The church of Carmine

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

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