Ragusa

A talking palace

terzo balconeWhat makes Palazzo La Rocca so unique are its large corbels , below the balconies, three supporting each one. They tell their own story and amaze passers-by.
From Via Duomo the first balcony that we find is the balcony of the Cherubini (cherubs).
The second and third balconies are dedicated to music, where sculptures of a tenor mandola player and a flute player remind us that at that time music, bel canto and feasts were an essential part of aristocratic life.
il balcone con i suonatori di mandorla particolare il balcone con i suonatori di mandorla
il balcone con i suonatori di flauto particolare settimo balcone
The fourth balcony portrays a tender moment between mother and son. Then follows the balcony above the entrance door decorated with a central shell and plant decorations in the side corbels.
The sixth is the balcony of the Amorini, where three pairs of cupids are linked in a tender embrace.
The seventh balcony has a sculpted telamon that seems to support the full weight of the balcony all by itself.
Balcone sopra il portale foto settimo balcone ottavo balcone
The final balcony is the balcony of the Cavaliere (knight). It is surrounded by several characters.
On the left is a masked man, perhaps one of his soldiers or bodyguards, and on the right is a figure with a malevolent smile, which represents cunning; above is a large moustached man with a thick head of hair and two porters.
What a sight! Walking down Via Capitano Bocchieri is like going to the theatre.

The city of museums

From International Gothic to present day

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

A half-Baroque church

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The colours of the cathedral

The internal colours

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A feast only for Scicli

An eagle-shaped city

Many owners, one palace

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Norman apses

Two illustrious patron saints

The Burgos crucifix

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

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

The Staircase of Angels

A majestic and luminous church

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Some masterpieces

A new site for a new church

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Prominent façade

A colourful floor

A symbol for the town

Feasting in Palazzolo

One city, three sites

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The two churches

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Wonderful quick decorations

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

A prominent church

The theatre of taste

Discovering the mother church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The chocolate of Modica

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The interior and its masterpieces

A city in colour

The wall comes to life

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A museum to save a tradition

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

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

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A long reconstruction

A hall for the feasts

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Feast days

Between white and black

A small room with a golden entrance

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

One city, two sites

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A square as the heart of the city

A talking palace

A miniature city

The Maiolica of the staircase

Some prestigious works

The disastrous earthquake

A triumph of colour

The church of Carmine

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Modica, a city with ancient origins

New roads for Catania

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

The Baroque town by the sea

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Searching for colour

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town