Ragusa

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

hearing
Angelic song

On 24 June 1858 the church resounded with festivities.
The great organ was inaugurated, with more than three thousand pipes and a gigantic wooden cantoria (a structure built to house the choir). We can only imagine the sweet sound that accompanied that moment.
The organ still works today and can be found in the right chapel before the transept, while the cantoria was placed above the main portal.
For centuries, music and angelic songs have been an integral part of liturgical functions.
foto organo foto organo nella prima cappella di destra del transetto

touch
Pietra pece, a special stone

The dark, petroleum-infused pietra pece of the floor smells like petrol and leaves a coat of grease on your fingers like oil!
This unique rock is widely used because its particular composition can make a room resistant to humidity.

sight
Diversity makes everything more special

The two-tone interior makes the cathedral of San Giovanni Battista (St. John the Baptist) wonderful. The white walls combined with the black floor enhances both elements and adds liveliness to the environment.
Once inside the church of St. John the Baptist, our sense of sight is also stimulated by the colourful altars that crowd the side naves.
Red, green, white, gold, and even the black of the balustrades stimulate the visitor’s eye.

The church of Carmine

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Feast days

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

The Baroque town by the sea

A colourful floor

A square as the heart of the city

The internal colours

A feast only for Scicli

A hall for the feasts

The chocolate of Modica

Many owners, one palace

Between white and black

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A new site for a new city

The theatre of taste

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

One city, two sites

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

The two churches

A small room with a golden entrance

A prominent church

A talking palace

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Some prestigious works

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A city in colour

The Burgos crucifix

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Some masterpieces

A new site for a new church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

An eagle-shaped city

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Searching for colour

New roads for Catania

The city of museums

A museum to save a tradition

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

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

The colours of the cathedral

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

Norman apses

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Feasting in Palazzolo

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A half-Baroque church

One city, three sites

Prominent façade

A symbol for the town

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

A miniature city

Wonderful quick decorations

The wall comes to life

A long reconstruction

A triumph of colour

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

The disastrous earthquake

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Discovering the mother church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

Two illustrious patron saints

A majestic and luminous church

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

From International Gothic to present day