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

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The Baroque town by the sea

A symbol for the town

The church of Carmine

Between white and black

The city of museums

A triumph of colour

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

An eagle-shaped city

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The theatre of taste

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Two illustrious patron saints

The wall comes to life

A city in colour

Some masterpieces

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

Many owners, one palace

A majestic and luminous church

A colourful floor

From International Gothic to present day

A hall for the feasts

A square as the heart of the city

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The two churches

Searching for colour

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Prominent façade

One city, two sites

The Burgos crucifix

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Staircase of Angels

A miniature city

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The chocolate of Modica

A half-Baroque church

New roads for Catania

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Limestone, the colour of harmony

One city, three sites

Feast days

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A talking palace

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

A museum to save a tradition

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

A new site for a new city

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Feasting in Palazzolo

The internal colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Norman apses

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

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Maiolica of the staircase

A prominent church

Wonderful quick decorations

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

Discovering the mother church

A new site for a new church

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

A feast only for Scicli

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The colours of the cathedral

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Some prestigious works