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.

One city, two sites

The Burgos crucifix

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Many owners, one palace

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The disastrous earthquake

Feasting in Palazzolo

Prominent façade

One city, three sites

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

A new site for a new church

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A half-Baroque church

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Maiolica of the staircase

Two illustrious patron saints

An eagle-shaped city

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A city in colour

Wonderful quick decorations

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

A long reconstruction

A talking palace

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Some prestigious works

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The chocolate of Modica

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The colours of the cathedral

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A colourful floor

A museum to save a tradition

A feast only for Scicli

The city of museums

A prominent church

The church of Carmine

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Searching for colour

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Some masterpieces

A miniature city

Norman apses

The two churches

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

A small room with a golden entrance

Feast days

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Discovering the mother church

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A triumph of colour

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

The theatre of taste

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A symbol for the town

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The interior and its masterpieces

A hall for the feasts

The internal colours

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A majestic and luminous church

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

From International Gothic to present day

Between white and black

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Staircase of Angels

The Baroque town by the sea

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

A square as the heart of the city

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

New roads for Catania