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 disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Staircase of Angels

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The church of Carmine

The wall comes to life

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A talking palace

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Some prestigious works

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

From International Gothic to present day

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

The theatre of taste

An eagle-shaped city

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A colourful floor

The colours of the cathedral

A small room with a golden entrance

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

Between white and black

Wonderful quick decorations

A long reconstruction

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A miniature city

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Burgos crucifix

The Baroque town by the sea

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The chocolate of Modica

Norman apses

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

A feast only for Scicli

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

One city, two sites

New roads for Catania

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

One city, three sites

Prominent façade

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A new site for a new church

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The city of museums

The interior and its masterpieces

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A new site for a new city

Some masterpieces

A triumph of colour

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A hall for the feasts

Searching for colour

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

A majestic and luminous church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Two illustrious patron saints

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A half-Baroque church

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

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

Many owners, one palace

The two churches

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A museum to save a tradition

A square as the heart of the city

Feast days

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

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

A symbol for the town

A prominent church

The internal colours

The Maiolica of the staircase