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.

Norman apses

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

The theatre of taste

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

One city, three sites

A miniature city

A colourful floor

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Staircase of Angels

Between white and black

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Discovering the mother church

A small room with a golden entrance

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

A city in colour

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A museum to save a tradition

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A square as the heart of the city

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The internal colours

From International Gothic to present day

A long reconstruction

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The wall comes to life

The two churches

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A prominent church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The city of museums

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The chocolate of Modica

A symbol for the town

New roads for Catania

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

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A new site for a new city

Two illustrious patron saints

A majestic and luminous church

One city, two sites

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Some masterpieces

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Some prestigious works

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Prominent façade

An eagle-shaped city

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

Feast days

Searching for colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

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

The disastrous earthquake

The Burgos crucifix

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The church of Carmine

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

Wonderful quick decorations

The interior and its masterpieces

A hall for the feasts

A new site for a new church

A talking palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Many owners, one palace

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A triumph of colour

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A half-Baroque church

The Baroque town by the sea

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A feast only for Scicli

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The colours of the cathedral

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public