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

Some masterpieces

Two illustrious patron saints

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Burgos crucifix

The city of museums

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

A majestic and luminous church

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

The colours of the cathedral

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Norman apses

The church of Carmine

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A new site for a new church

Wonderful quick decorations

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

The Staircase of Angels

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The interior and its masterpieces

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A symbol for the town

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

An eagle-shaped city

Many owners, one palace

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

One city, three sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

One city, two sites

Feasting in Palazzolo

A city in colour

A square as the heart of the city

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A half-Baroque church

A hall for the feasts

Feast days

The internal colours

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

A colourful floor

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A small room with a golden entrance

From International Gothic to present day

Prominent façade

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

The wall comes to life

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A prominent church

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The two churches

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Discovering the mother church

The theatre of taste

A new site for a new city

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A miniature city

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Between white and black

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A talking palace

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A long reconstruction

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The disastrous earthquake

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A museum to save a tradition

The Maiolica of the staircase

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

New roads for Catania

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Searching for colour

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A triumph of colour

Some prestigious works