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.

From International Gothic to present day

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A miniature city

Prominent façade

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

New roads for Catania

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A symbol for the town

Wonderful quick decorations

The disastrous earthquake

A prominent church

The wall comes to life

A hall for the feasts

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

A new site for a new church

Between white and black

The two churches

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A colourful floor

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

An eagle-shaped city

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Discovering the mother church

The city of museums

A new site for a new city

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

Many owners, one palace

Feasting in Palazzolo

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The church of Carmine

A triumph of colour

The Burgos crucifix

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A long reconstruction

Searching for colour

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The Staircase of Angels

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The chocolate of Modica

A museum to save a tradition

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The theatre of taste

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A majestic and luminous church

The Baroque town by the sea

The internal colours

Some prestigious works

A talking palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A half-Baroque church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A small room with a golden entrance

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

One city, two sites

The colours of the cathedral

Feast days

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Norman apses

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Some masterpieces

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Two illustrious patron saints

A city in colour

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

One city, three sites

St. Sebastian, so much work!

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Maiolica of the staircase

Connections with other UNESCO sites