Ragusa

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

taste
A freshwater spring

Not far from the church of San Giuseppe (St. Joseph) is Porta Walter. It was built in medieval times and allowed people to leave the city and visit the lush green valley of Santa Domenica.
From here they would reach a spring where inhabitants rushed to quench their thirst and collect as much water as possible, especially on long, sweltering summer days!

sight
A question of perspective!

Depending on the time of day, the levels of the façade and its various elements create a unique and fascinating combination of light effects.
The plays of light and shadow change from hour to hour.
The endless chiaroscuro effects uncover and hide new details each time.

touch
Such rich materials!

The church brings out the diversity of the materials and the infinite possibilities for their use. As a matter of fact, the glass used in the large windows of the vault was also used to decorate the altars with a process that imitates marble.
Used for the worshippers’ seating, wood also proves to be an excellent material for beautiful wooden sculptures such as the Madonna near the altar.
madonna in legno altare

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A long reconstruction

The colours of the cathedral

A symbol for the town

The church of Carmine

Discovering the mother church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Baroque town by the sea

A majestic and luminous church

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A half-Baroque church

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

The Burgos crucifix

Many owners, one palace

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A museum to save a tradition

One city, three sites

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

An eagle-shaped city

Norman apses

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The Staircase of Angels

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

A miniature city

The internal colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A feast only for Scicli

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A square as the heart of the city

Wonderful quick decorations

A new site for a new city

A talking palace

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

New roads for Catania

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

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

The two churches

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

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

Some prestigious works

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

A new site for a new church

Prominent façade

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The theatre of taste

Two illustrious patron saints

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Feast days

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

Searching for colour

Between white and black

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The chocolate of Modica

The disastrous earthquake

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Connections with other UNESCO sites

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A triumph of colour

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Feasting in Palazzolo

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A Nobel Prize in Modica

One city, two sites

From International Gothic to present day

Some masterpieces

A prominent church

The interior and its masterpieces

The city of museums

A city in colour

A colourful floor

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A small room with a golden entrance

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

The wall comes to life