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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Discovering the mother church

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

An eagle-shaped city

Norman apses

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The disastrous earthquake

Some masterpieces

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Between white and black

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The wall comes to life

A new site for a new city

The Maiolica of the staircase

Feasting in Palazzolo

The internal colours

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Burgos crucifix

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

One city, two sites

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

A triumph of colour

A majestic and luminous church

A hall for the feasts

A new site for a new church

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Some prestigious works

The Staircase of Angels

A colourful floor

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

The Baroque town by the sea

The colours of the cathedral

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

One city, three sites

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A prominent church

A miniature city

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The theatre of taste

The city of museums

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The two churches

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

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The interior and its masterpieces

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A long reconstruction

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

New roads for Catania

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A feast only for Scicli

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Feast days

A symbol for the town

A small room with a golden entrance

Wonderful quick decorations

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A talking palace

A city in colour

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The church of Carmine

Two illustrious patron saints

From International Gothic to present day

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

The chocolate of Modica

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Many owners, one palace

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A half-Baroque church

Prominent façade

Searching for colour

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

A square as the heart of the city