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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The disastrous earthquake

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Feasting in Palazzolo

One city, three sites

A prominent church

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A symbol for the town

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

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

The city of museums

A hall for the feasts

A museum to save a tradition

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

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The two churches

A feast only for Scicli

An eagle-shaped city

Searching for colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

New roads for Catania

Norman apses

Wonderful quick decorations

A half-Baroque church

The internal colours

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Prominent façade

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

The theatre of taste

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The Baroque town by the sea

Many owners, one palace

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A new site for a new city

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Some prestigious works

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

The interior and its masterpieces

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Between white and black

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

The Staircase of Angels

A colourful floor

One city, two sites

Feast days

The church of Carmine

A city in colour

A square as the heart of the city

The colours of the cathedral

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

A new site for a new church

Some masterpieces

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A talking palace

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The chocolate of Modica

A long reconstruction

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Connections with other UNESCO sites

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Discovering the mother church

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

Two illustrious patron saints

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

From International Gothic to present day

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Maiolica of the staircase

A triumph of colour

The Burgos crucifix

A miniature city