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 colours of the cathedral

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The internal colours

Between white and black

The two churches

The theatre of taste

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

A museum to save a tradition

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

The Baroque town by the sea

A talking palace

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A feast only for Scicli

A new site for a new city

Some prestigious works

A triumph of colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A city in colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The interior and its masterpieces

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Norman apses

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

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

An eagle-shaped city

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

Discovering the mother church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

One city, three sites

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A majestic and luminous church

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The wall comes to life

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A colourful floor

A new site for a new church

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The city of museums

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A long reconstruction

A half-Baroque church

The Staircase of Angels

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The church of Carmine

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A miniature city

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A prominent church

Prominent façade

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Two illustrious patron saints

Modica, a city with ancient origins

From International Gothic to present day

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

The Burgos crucifix

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

New roads for Catania

A small room with a golden entrance

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The chocolate of Modica

A hall for the feasts

Searching for colour

One city, two sites

Wonderful quick decorations

A symbol for the town

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A square as the heart of the city

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Feast days