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.

Some masterpieces

A triumph of colour

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Many owners, one palace

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A new site for a new city

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A colourful floor

The Burgos crucifix

The Baroque town by the sea

An eagle-shaped city

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A symbol for the town

A miniature city

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Discovering the mother church

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Norman apses

A feast only for Scicli

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

The chocolate of Modica

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Feast days

A small room with a golden entrance

The Maiolica of the staircase

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

New roads for Catania

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

The interior and its masterpieces

A hall for the feasts

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Prominent façade

A museum to save a tradition

A half-Baroque church

A talking palace

Some prestigious works

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Wonderful quick decorations

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

The church of Carmine

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The disastrous earthquake

Two illustrious patron saints

One city, three sites

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Staircase of Angels

St. Sebastian, so much work!

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The colours of the cathedral

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

The wall comes to life

The two churches

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

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

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

A prominent church

The city of museums

One city, two sites

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

The theatre of taste

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A city in colour

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The internal colours

From International Gothic to present day

Searching for colour

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A square as the heart of the city

Feasting in Palazzolo

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A new site for a new church

Between white and black

A long reconstruction

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

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano