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 senses tell the story of the church of San Giovanni Battista

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A symbol for the town

The wall comes to life

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Feasting in Palazzolo

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A majestic and luminous church

Many owners, one palace

One city, two sites

A new site for a new city

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Some masterpieces

Searching for colour

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

One city, three sites

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A prominent church

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

Between white and black

Discovering the mother church

Wonderful quick decorations

Prominent façade

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A museum to save a tradition

The two churches

A half-Baroque church

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A new site for a new church

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A square as the heart of the city

A miniature city

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Maiolica of the staircase

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A small room with a golden entrance

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The theatre of taste

The Baroque town by the sea

The church of Carmine

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Feast days

The chocolate of Modica

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

A colourful floor

A hall for the feasts

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Some prestigious works

The internal colours

A triumph of colour

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

Norman apses

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The interior and its masterpieces

An eagle-shaped city

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Staircase of Angels

A feast only for Scicli

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A Nobel Prize in Modica

From International Gothic to present day

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

A long reconstruction

A city in colour

A talking palace

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

The city of museums

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

New roads for Catania

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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