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 Badia di Sant’Agata

A triumph of colour

A symbol for the town

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The internal colours

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

Two illustrious patron saints

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

The chocolate of Modica

The church of Carmine

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Searching for colour

Feast days

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

A miniature city

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

A square as the heart of the city

The Baroque town by the sea

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A long reconstruction

A museum to save a tradition

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The interior and its masterpieces

Many owners, one palace

The Maiolica of the staircase

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Burgos crucifix

A talking palace

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Some masterpieces

Wonderful quick decorations

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Norman apses

Some prestigious works

A small room with a golden entrance

New roads for Catania

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A new site for a new church

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Prominent façade

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Between white and black

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The two churches

A half-Baroque church

A new site for a new city

The colours of the cathedral

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A feast only for Scicli

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

One city, two sites

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

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

The city of museums

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

One city, three sites

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A city in colour

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Feasting in Palazzolo

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The disastrous earthquake

An eagle-shaped city

From International Gothic to present day

The wall comes to life

A majestic and luminous church

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Staircase of Angels

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A hall for the feasts

A prominent church

The theatre of taste

Discovering the mother church

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A colourful floor

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano