Ragusa

Searching for colour

The interior of the church of San Giuseppe (St. Joseph) is a single large oval-shaped room.
The Friar Alberto Maria di San Giovanni Battista most likely took inspiration for its floor plan from the church of Santa Chiara (St. Claire) in Noto.
The architect friar had two entrances built, one from Piazza Pola and the other directly from the convent for access by the nuns. As you enter the church you are surprised and overwhelmed by its very high ceiling, an effect achieved thanks to the majestic dome and the four windows that fill the space with light.
Ingresso verso l’altare foto dal basso verso l’alto della cupola
As for the walls, they were left white with some golden stucco decoration.
This pallor, however, is immediately broken up by four colourful altars placed along the walls, the painting on the high altar and the vault fresco.

zoom affresco della volta
affresco della volta

The painting with the Holy Family was created by painter Matteo Battaglia from Ragusa and the fresco with the Glory of St. Benedict is the work of Sebastiano Lo Monaco, an artist from Catania.
To add colour to the room, and to create a strong contrast with the white walls, black pietra pece was used for the floor, which features a white limestone decoration.
uno degli altari sulle pareti pavimento

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

New roads for Catania

The Baroque town by the sea

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

From International Gothic to present day

Searching for colour

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

The interior and its masterpieces

A city in colour

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Two illustrious patron saints

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Feast days

A prominent church

A hall for the feasts

The wall comes to life

A symbol for the town

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Burgos crucifix

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

A miniature city

A colourful floor

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

A new site for a new church

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

The two churches

The church of Carmine

The chocolate of Modica

Discovering the mother church

The Staircase of Angels

The colours of the cathedral

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Feasting in Palazzolo

Some masterpieces

A new site for a new city

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Limestone, the colour of harmony

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Prominent façade

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The city of museums

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

Between white and black

A small room with a golden entrance

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Some prestigious works

The Maiolica of the staircase

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A talking palace

The internal colours

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Many owners, one palace

Norman apses

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The theatre of taste

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A long reconstruction

One city, three sites

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

A museum to save a tradition

One city, two sites

The disastrous earthquake

A triumph of colour

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Wonderful quick decorations

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A feast only for Scicli