Ragusa

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

sight
A valley for Palazzo La Rocca

The green valley overlooked by Palazzo La Rocca is a riot of colours that vary with the changing seasons.
From the strong bright colours of spring, it moves on to shades of yellow and ochre in summer due to the lack of rain. As it reaches the end of summer, the colours are reborn with autumn fruits, such as pomegranate and quince.
Finally, winter arrives, which by nature makes everything darker, grey and less luxuriant.

hearing
The noises of a bygone era

The corbels of Palazzo La Rocca are a memory from a bygone era, especially the balcony with the flute and tenor mandola players, which brings to mind the sweet melodies played at the great parties held at the Palazzo, one of the most important events for the aristocracy. Delicate sounds accompanied the balls and dances in the great hall!

smell
The smell of the stone

The entrance to Palazzo La Rocca is extremely evocative.
With a little imagination you can picture Don Saverio La Rocca climbing the pietra pece staircase at the entrance.
What makes the atrium unique, however, is the strong smell of petroleum that envelops the entire space. It’s hard to believe, but the stone’s composition gives the room a sharp scent that verges on unpleasant, though it is fascinating to think that nature was able to create such a strong-smelling stone.

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A symbol for the town

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

One city, two sites

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

Wonderful quick decorations

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A talking palace

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Staircase of Angels

A colourful floor

A hall for the feasts

Some prestigious works

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

The wall comes to life

The chocolate of Modica

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The two churches

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Feasting in Palazzolo

Searching for colour

A museum to save a tradition

A square as the heart of the city

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

The interior and its masterpieces

Prominent façade

Many owners, one palace

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The theatre of taste

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Discovering the mother church

A triumph of colour

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The church of Carmine

The Baroque town by the sea

The Maiolica of the staircase

Norman apses

A half-Baroque church

The internal colours

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

An eagle-shaped city

Some masterpieces

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A long reconstruction

Between white and black

From International Gothic to present day

The Burgos crucifix

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A new site for a new church

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

New roads for Catania

The city of museums

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A miniature city

A city in colour

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The disastrous earthquake

The colours of the cathedral

One city, three sites

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

A prominent church

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Two illustrious patron saints

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A small room with a golden entrance

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Feast days

A majestic and luminous church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

A new site for a new city

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