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

Two illustrious patron saints

From International Gothic to present day

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The two churches

The theatre of taste

The interior and its masterpieces

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

Prominent façade

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Many owners, one palace

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A half-Baroque church

A symbol for the town

A small room with a golden entrance

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A miniature city

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The colours of the cathedral

A new site for a new church

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A new site for a new city

Limestone, the colour of harmony

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A triumph of colour

A colourful floor

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

A long reconstruction

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A city in colour

The Burgos crucifix

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

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

One city, three sites

Connections with other UNESCO sites

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The chocolate of Modica

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

Searching for colour

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A majestic and luminous church

The Staircase of Angels

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

Norman apses

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

A talking palace

Between white and black

One city, two sites

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The city of museums

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Discovering the mother church

The Baroque town by the sea

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A prominent church

Feast days

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

A feast only for Scicli

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A hall for the feasts

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

New roads for Catania

Some prestigious works

The wall comes to life

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

The internal colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Feasting in Palazzolo