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 Baroque town by the sea

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

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

An eagle-shaped city

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

New roads for Catania

A miniature city

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The interior and its masterpieces

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A long reconstruction

Two illustrious patron saints

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

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The chocolate of Modica

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A majestic and luminous church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The disastrous earthquake

The city of museums

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The Burgos crucifix

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The church of Carmine

A feast only for Scicli

The two churches

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A hall for the feasts

Wonderful quick decorations

A square as the heart of the city

Discovering the mother church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Some prestigious works

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A small room with a golden entrance

Feasting in Palazzolo

The theatre of taste

A new site for a new city

Many owners, one palace

Norman apses

Searching for colour

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The wall comes to life

One city, two sites

Prominent façade

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A prominent church

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

A new site for a new church

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A colourful floor

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

From International Gothic to present day

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A city in colour

Between white and black

The colours of the cathedral

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Feast days

Some masterpieces

A museum to save a tradition

A half-Baroque church

One city, three sites

A talking palace

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A symbol for the town

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A triumph of colour

The internal colours

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe