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.

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Between white and black

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

The Baroque town by the sea

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The internal colours

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Some prestigious works

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Many owners, one palace

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

Norman apses

A majestic and luminous church

The theatre of taste

Modica, a city with ancient origins

New roads for Catania

A symbol for the town

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

The city of museums

A long reconstruction

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The two churches

A colourful floor

The interior and its masterpieces

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

A square as the heart of the city

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The wall comes to life

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

A half-Baroque church

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

Two illustrious patron saints

The Maiolica of the staircase

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A city in colour

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A feast only for Scicli

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Staircase of Angels

Prominent façade

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A hall for the feasts

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

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The colours of the cathedral

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The chocolate of Modica

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

A prominent church

An eagle-shaped city

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A new site for a new city

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

One city, three sites

Discovering the mother church

The disastrous earthquake

A triumph of colour

A miniature city

From International Gothic to present day

A small room with a golden entrance

Feasting in Palazzolo

One city, two sites

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Searching for colour

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The church of Carmine

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A talking palace

A new site for a new church

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

Feast days