Ragusa

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The church of San Giuseppe (St. Joseph) is located on the corner of Piazza Pola, near the Cathedral of San Giorgio (St. George) in Ibla.foto della piazza che inquadra la chiesa It was built after 1756, when the Benedictine nuns of the nearby convent, led by the abbess Battistina Maria Arezzo, bought the old dilapidated church of San Tommaso Apostolo (Thomas the Apostle). Thanks to them, reconstruction work began for the new church of San Giuseppe (St. Joseph).
The church building was built first, completed in 1774, followed by the demolition of the bell tower and the completion of the external and internal decorations. Foto facciata Initially the design for the new church was attributed to the great architect Rosario Gagliardi because of similarities with his other work, such as the Cathedral of San Giorgio (St. George) and the church of San Domenico (St. Dominic) in Noto. They all featured a horizontal division into three levels, with the final level containing the bell, but opinions have changed over the years and following more in-depth studies. Work by another architect, the Carmelite Friar Alberto Maria di San Giovanni Battista, who worked not only in Ragusa but also on the church of San Giovanni Evangelista (St. John the Evangelist) in Scicli, has a less innovative style than Gagliardi and is more similar to local artistic culture.
Well over seventy years later, Ibla and the Benedictine convent had a functioning new church, enjoyed by nuns and worshippers.
foto Facciata frontale

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Two illustrious patron saints

A hall for the feasts

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

A majestic and luminous church

The theatre of taste

A half-Baroque church

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

New roads for Catania

Searching for colour

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Discovering the mother church

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A colourful floor

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

The chocolate of Modica

Some masterpieces

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

One city, two sites

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The church of Carmine

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

A triumph of colour

Some prestigious works

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The two churches

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The city of museums

Prominent façade

A miniature city

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Many owners, one palace

A symbol for the town

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The interior and its masterpieces

Connections with other UNESCO sites

One city, three sites

A new site for a new church

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The colours of the cathedral

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

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

A new site for a new city

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

An eagle-shaped city

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The disastrous earthquake

The wall comes to life

Norman apses

A long reconstruction

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A prominent church

A talking palace

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

Between white and black

Feast days

A square as the heart of the city

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Baroque town by the sea

Wonderful quick decorations

A small room with a golden entrance

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

A museum to save a tradition

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

From International Gothic to present day

The internal colours

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A feast only for Scicli

A city in colour