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.

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The city of museums

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

A prominent church

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Burgos crucifix

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

One city, three sites

The Maiolica of the staircase

A museum to save a tradition

Searching for colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A talking palace

New roads for Catania

A new site for a new city

The Baroque town by the sea

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The church of Carmine

The interior and its masterpieces

A square as the heart of the city

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The disastrous earthquake

A city in colour

A small room with a golden entrance

The wall comes to life

Some masterpieces

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Norman apses

Between white and black

A miniature city

A new site for a new church

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

The two churches

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

One city, two sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Wonderful quick decorations

A half-Baroque church

The internal colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The chocolate of Modica

The theatre of taste

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

A feast only for Scicli

Feast days

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A colourful floor

Prominent façade

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A long reconstruction

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A hall for the feasts

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Discovering the mother church

Some prestigious works

A triumph of colour

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

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

An eagle-shaped city

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

Many owners, one palace

Two illustrious patron saints

A symbol for the town

The colours of the cathedral

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A majestic and luminous church