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

One city, three sites

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Feast days

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

The colours of the cathedral

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Maiolica of the staircase

Many owners, one palace

Searching for colour

An eagle-shaped city

A half-Baroque church

Two illustrious patron saints

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Baroque town by the sea

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The wall comes to life

A hall for the feasts

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Between white and black

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The disastrous earthquake

The theatre of taste

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A miniature city

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

St. Sebastian, so much work!

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A new site for a new church

Some masterpieces

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A talking palace

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The internal colours

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Norman apses

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Some prestigious works

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Discovering the mother church

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

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

The chocolate of Modica

A city in colour

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A prominent church

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The interior and its masterpieces

A small room with a golden entrance

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The church of Carmine

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A square as the heart of the city

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A new site for a new city

Prominent façade

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

From International Gothic to present day

A long reconstruction

A symbol for the town

A triumph of colour

A feast only for Scicli

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

The Staircase of Angels

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

A museum to save a tradition

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The city of museums

A colourful floor

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

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

Wonderful quick decorations

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A majestic and luminous church

One city, two sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The two churches

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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