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 Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Feast days

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The theatre of taste

New roads for Catania

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Between white and black

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A prominent church

A triumph of colour

Two illustrious patron saints

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

One city, three sites

Discovering the mother church

The two churches

A symbol for the town

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

The internal colours

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A small room with a golden entrance

The interior and its masterpieces

A new site for a new church

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Connections with other UNESCO sites

From International Gothic to present day

Many owners, one palace

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Maiolica of the staircase

Prominent façade

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The city of museums

One city, two sites

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A talking palace

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

The church of Carmine

The Staircase of Angels

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

Searching for colour

Wonderful quick decorations

The Burgos crucifix

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Some masterpieces

Some prestigious works

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A miniature city

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

A city in colour

The colours of the cathedral

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Feasting in Palazzolo

A half-Baroque church

The Baroque town by the sea

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

An eagle-shaped city

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A museum to save a tradition

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Norman apses

A hall for the feasts

A majestic and luminous church

The disastrous earthquake

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A long reconstruction

A new site for a new city

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A colourful floor

The wall comes to life