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

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A new site for a new city

Many owners, one palace

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The theatre of taste

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A square as the heart of the city

The wall comes to life

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

One city, three sites

An eagle-shaped city

New roads for Catania

A colourful floor

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Prominent façade

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A small room with a golden entrance

Some masterpieces

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A talking palace

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

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

A prominent church

The two churches

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Feasting in Palazzolo

A triumph of colour

The Staircase of Angels

Two illustrious patron saints

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

The disastrous earthquake

Between white and black

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Feast days

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

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

A half-Baroque church

A new site for a new church

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

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A city in colour

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

The internal colours

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The chocolate of Modica

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A feast only for Scicli

A symbol for the town

Some prestigious works

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A hall for the feasts

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

A miniature city

The church of Carmine

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Searching for colour

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

One city, two sites

The Maiolica of the staircase

The Burgos crucifix

Norman apses

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Baroque town by the sea

A long reconstruction

The city of museums

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The colours of the cathedral

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The interior and its masterpieces

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A museum to save a tradition