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.

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The church of Carmine

A hall for the feasts

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

Prominent façade

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Norman apses

A miniature city

New roads for Catania

A new site for a new church

The Maiolica of the staircase

Many owners, one palace

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A majestic and luminous church

Searching for colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Feasting in Palazzolo

The wall comes to life

A Nobel Prize in Modica

From International Gothic to present day

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A symbol for the town

Discovering the mother church

The Baroque town by the sea

The disastrous earthquake

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

Some masterpieces

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A colourful floor

A new site for a new city

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

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

A city in colour

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Feast days

A museum to save a tradition

The theatre of taste

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Wonderful quick decorations

The colours of the cathedral

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Modica, a city with ancient origins

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A long reconstruction

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Some prestigious works

A triumph of colour

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A talking palace

One city, two sites

A feast only for Scicli

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

A small room with a golden entrance

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

The internal colours

A prominent church

The city of museums

The Burgos crucifix

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Staircase of Angels

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

One city, three sites

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The two churches

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A half-Baroque church

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Between white and black

A square as the heart of the city

Two illustrious patron saints

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