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 Mother Church of San Nicolò and of the Santissimo Salvatore

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The internal colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

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

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

A hall for the feasts

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A museum to save a tradition

A feast only for Scicli

A small room with a golden entrance

A city in colour

Between white and black

A symbol for the town

The chocolate of Modica

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A long reconstruction

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A half-Baroque church

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Feast days

Some prestigious works

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Staircase of Angels

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

A triumph of colour

One city, two sites

A square as the heart of the city

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Searching for colour

The disastrous earthquake

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Baroque town by the sea

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

New roads for Catania

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The theatre of taste

Some masterpieces

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Maiolica of the staircase

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

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

Two illustrious patron saints

An eagle-shaped city

A prominent church

The two churches

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

The Burgos crucifix

The city of museums

A new site for a new church

A new site for a new city

One city, three sites

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The church of Carmine

The interior and its masterpieces

Norman apses

A miniature city

From International Gothic to present day

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

St. Sebastian, so much work!

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The wall comes to life

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A colourful floor

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A majestic and luminous church

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A talking palace

Wonderful quick decorations

Prominent façade