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 façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A miniature city

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Discovering the mother church

The Baroque town by the sea

A symbol for the town

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

Searching for colour

A prominent church

One city, two sites

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Prominent façade

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A hall for the feasts

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A long reconstruction

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The wall comes to life

Norman apses

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

A feast only for Scicli

A new site for a new city

From International Gothic to present day

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The church of Carmine

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A city in colour

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Feast days

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Staircase of Angels

A new site for a new church

A half-Baroque church

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Two illustrious patron saints

Some masterpieces

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Wonderful quick decorations

An eagle-shaped city

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A triumph of colour

Between white and black

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Connections with other UNESCO sites

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The disastrous earthquake

The two churches

Many owners, one palace

The city of museums

New roads for Catania

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The theatre of taste

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A majestic and luminous church

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

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A talking palace

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

The chocolate of Modica

Some prestigious works

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

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

A small room with a golden entrance

One city, three sites

The interior and its masterpieces

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The internal colours

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A square as the heart of the city

The Maiolica of the staircase

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A colourful floor