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

Two illustrious patron saints

Feasting in Palazzolo

A long reconstruction

Many owners, one palace

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A triumph of colour

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Wonderful quick decorations

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

Prominent façade

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

The internal colours

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The city of museums

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A small room with a golden entrance

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

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A new site for a new church

The Maiolica of the staircase

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Modica, a city with ancient origins

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Between white and black

Some masterpieces

A new site for a new city

One city, three sites

The colours of the cathedral

A symbol for the town

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Baroque town by the sea

A prominent church

A talking palace

The two churches

Searching for colour

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

From International Gothic to present day

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A square as the heart of the city

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A majestic and luminous church

A hall for the feasts

Feast days

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

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

One city, two sites

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Some prestigious works

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Norman apses

The chocolate of Modica

A city in colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A colourful floor

The wall comes to life

A miniature city

The church of Carmine

New roads for Catania

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The interior and its masterpieces

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Staircase of Angels

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A museum to save a tradition

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

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The theatre of taste