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.

A city in colour

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Some masterpieces

A colourful floor

A hall for the feasts

The internal colours

The Maiolica of the staircase

The Baroque town by the sea

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Prominent façade

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Staircase of Angels

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Discovering the mother church

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

A talking palace

The chocolate of Modica

The Burgos crucifix

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Searching for colour

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A half-Baroque church

The interior and its masterpieces

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A miniature city

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

Two illustrious patron saints

Some prestigious works

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Feasting in Palazzolo

The disastrous earthquake

The colours of the cathedral

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A prominent church

The city of museums

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Feast days

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

One city, three sites

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

A new site for a new church

An eagle-shaped city

Many owners, one palace

A triumph of colour

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The two churches

A long reconstruction

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Norman apses

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

The church of Carmine

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Wonderful quick decorations

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The theatre of taste

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A small room with a golden entrance

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A majestic and luminous church

From International Gothic to present day

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A square as the heart of the city

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A museum to save a tradition

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Between white and black

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A new site for a new city

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

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

The wall comes to life

A symbol for the town

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

A feast only for Scicli

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

One city, two sites

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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