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.

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The church of Carmine

A talking palace

Two illustrious patron saints

A small room with a golden entrance

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The internal colours

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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 hall for the feasts

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A long reconstruction

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

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

A new site for a new church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A half-Baroque church

From International Gothic to present day

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A majestic and luminous church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

The theatre of taste

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The wall comes to life

An eagle-shaped city

The façade used as a puppet theatre

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

One city, two sites

The Staircase of Angels

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A miniature city

Many owners, one palace

Prominent façade

Feast days

Searching for colour

The city of museums

A triumph of colour

A prominent church

The interior and its masterpieces

The disastrous earthquake

The chocolate of Modica

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A museum to save a tradition

A colourful floor

Discovering the mother church

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

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Between white and black

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Norman apses

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A city in colour

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A square as the heart of the city

The Baroque town by the sea

Some masterpieces

The two churches

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A symbol for the town

New roads for Catania

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The colours of the cathedral

The Burgos crucifix

One city, three sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Some prestigious works

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Wonderful quick decorations

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph