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 role of the religious orders in rebuilding the Val di Noto

An eagle-shaped city

The chocolate of Modica

The Burgos crucifix

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The two churches

New roads for Catania

A city in colour

The Staircase of Angels

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

A symbol for the town

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The wall comes to life

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A long reconstruction

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

The disastrous earthquake

The Baroque town by the sea

The colours of the cathedral

Discovering the mother church

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Between white and black

A museum to save a tradition

A talking palace

A feast only for Scicli

Prominent façade

A square as the heart of the city

One city, two sites

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Two illustrious patron saints

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Feast days

The city of museums

Wonderful quick decorations

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

A small room with a golden entrance

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The theatre of taste

The interior and its masterpieces

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A new site for a new church

Many owners, one palace

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Norman apses

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

One city, three sites

A prominent church

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

A majestic and luminous church

The internal colours

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A half-Baroque church

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Some masterpieces

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A miniature city

Searching for colour

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A triumph of colour

The church of Carmine

A colourful floor

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A new site for a new city

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Some prestigious works

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

Feasting in Palazzolo