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.

Two illustrious patron saints

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A small room with a golden entrance

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A long reconstruction

A colourful floor

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

One city, three sites

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A symbol for the town

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

New roads for Catania

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A hall for the feasts

The theatre of taste

Feast days

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Some masterpieces

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

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

Norman apses

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

Between white and black

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Maiolica of the staircase

A majestic and luminous church

The chocolate of Modica

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A miniature city

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

A new site for a new city

A feast only for Scicli

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The wall comes to life

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The two churches

Discovering the mother church

A talking palace

A square as the heart of the city

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Some prestigious works

From International Gothic to present day

Searching for colour

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The church of Carmine

A half-Baroque church

The disastrous earthquake

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A prominent church

An eagle-shaped city

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A new site for a new church

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Baroque town by the sea

The colours of the cathedral

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The internal colours

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

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

A triumph of colour

A city in colour

Many owners, one palace

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

Prominent façade

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Wonderful quick decorations

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

One city, two sites

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

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The city of museums

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library