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 Burgos crucifix

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The interior and its masterpieces

A museum to save a tradition

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

Feast days

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

One city, three sites

Searching for colour

A prominent church

A hall for the feasts

A city in colour

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The Staircase of Angels

From International Gothic to present day

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

A talking palace

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A feast only for Scicli

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Some masterpieces

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Many owners, one palace

The chocolate of Modica

Norman apses

The colours of the cathedral

One city, two sites

A half-Baroque church

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A colourful floor

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The theatre of taste

The disastrous earthquake

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

The church of Carmine

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

Some prestigious works

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

The two churches

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A small room with a golden entrance

The city of museums

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Prominent façade

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

A new site for a new city

Two illustrious patron saints

Between white and black

A majestic and luminous church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The internal colours

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A new site for a new church

The Baroque town by the sea

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A long reconstruction

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A miniature city

A symbol for the town

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Discovering the mother church

An eagle-shaped city

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

A square as the heart of the city

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

A triumph of colour

The wall comes to life