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 senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The colours of the cathedral

Feast days

A new site for a new city

A symbol for the town

The wall comes to life

The Baroque town by the sea

Searching for colour

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A talking palace

The church of Carmine

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The two churches

New roads for Catania

Between white and black

One city, three sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The city of museums

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

A small room with a golden entrance

Wonderful quick decorations

Norman apses

A museum to save a tradition

A triumph of colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The disastrous earthquake

The Maiolica of the staircase

The chocolate of Modica

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Modica, a city with ancient origins

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Some masterpieces

The theatre of taste

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A city in colour

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A prominent church

Discovering the mother church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Some prestigious works

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

A long reconstruction

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Staircase of Angels

A colourful floor

One city, two sites

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

From International Gothic to present day

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A miniature city

An eagle-shaped city

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A majestic and luminous church

Many owners, one palace

The interior and its masterpieces

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

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A new site for a new church

A half-Baroque church

Prominent façade

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A square as the heart of the city

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The internal colours

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A hall for the feasts

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci