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 Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A symbol for the town

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

One city, three sites

A miniature city

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The church of Carmine

The internal colours

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A city in colour

The wall comes to life

The two churches

The Maiolica of the staircase

The Baroque town by the sea

A small room with a golden entrance

A long reconstruction

A talking palace

The interior and its masterpieces

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Wonderful quick decorations

The disastrous earthquake

A museum to save a tradition

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

The theatre of taste

A new site for a new church

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

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

Norman apses

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A colourful floor

An eagle-shaped city

One city, two sites

The Staircase of Angels

A majestic and luminous church

Discovering the mother church

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A half-Baroque church

Some prestigious works

A triumph of colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The city of museums

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Two illustrious patron saints

A hall for the feasts

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A prominent church

The Burgos crucifix

The chocolate of Modica

Many owners, one palace

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

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

Feast days

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Between white and black

Some masterpieces

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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 Badia di Sant’Agata

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A square as the heart of the city

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The colours of the cathedral

Prominent façade

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

A new site for a new city

Searching for colour

New roads for Catania

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto