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

One city, three sites

A half-Baroque church

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The colours of the cathedral

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A hall for the feasts

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The interior and its masterpieces

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

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

Between white and black

A talking palace

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

One city, two sites

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A museum to save a tradition

The city of museums

A small room with a golden entrance

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

The internal colours

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A new site for a new church

Some prestigious works

An eagle-shaped city

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

Norman apses

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

A long reconstruction

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Many owners, one palace

New roads for Catania

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Staircase of Angels

A new site for a new city

Wonderful quick decorations

The wall comes to life

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The theatre of taste

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A square as the heart of the city

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A feast only for Scicli

The disastrous earthquake

The chocolate of Modica

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A symbol for the town

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

Some masterpieces

A prominent church

A triumph of colour

Feasting in Palazzolo

The church of Carmine

A majestic and luminous church

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

A miniature city

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

Searching for colour

The Burgos crucifix

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A city in colour

A colourful floor

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The two churches

Feast days

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Prominent façade

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Maiolica of the staircase