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 site for a new city

The chocolate of Modica

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Between white and black

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A feast only for Scicli

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A hall for the feasts

A prominent church

A symbol for the town

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

Norman apses

One city, two sites

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The church of Carmine

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Feasting in Palazzolo

A majestic and luminous church

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

The disastrous earthquake

The interior and its masterpieces

A small room with a golden entrance

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A colourful floor

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A museum to save a tradition

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

An eagle-shaped city

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

A miniature city

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

Feast days

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

New roads for Catania

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

Some masterpieces

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A half-Baroque church

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

Searching for colour

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A city in colour

The colours of the cathedral

Wonderful quick decorations

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The two churches

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A square as the heart of the city

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The city of museums

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Limestone, the colour of harmony

One city, three sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Staircase of Angels

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The wall comes to life

Discovering the mother church

Some prestigious works

Two illustrious patron saints

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A talking palace

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The theatre of taste

The internal colours

A new site for a new church

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

Prominent façade

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

A long reconstruction

From International Gothic to present day

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Burgos crucifix

The Baroque town by the sea

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

A triumph of colour

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

Many owners, one palace

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph