Ragusa

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Nature and architecture blend perfectly in Ragusa. Construction adapted to the environment in a surprising way. It was the result of careful planning involving many architects, engineers and foremen.
Each made a valuable contribution, though unfortunately it is not always possible to acknowledge everyone who worked on the project (such as the workers). Fortunately this is not the case for the “maestro of the Val di Noto”, Rosario Gagliardi.
He was perhaps the most creative 18th-century Sicilian architect, and was certainly the most innovative. He proposed a Baroque style that started with the basic rules then became something more beautiful and newer. His designs always took into account the context of the town, where it was and what was around it.foto facciata duomo This way, the buildings of the towns he built fit perfectly into the space.
He invented the tower façade, a façade that ended with a tower and bells, like the cathedral of San Giorgio (St. George) in Ragusa Ibla.
In his eyes, architecture was not only a useful discipline for constructing and designing a building, it also had to be able to arouse emotion. For this reason he placed sculptural decorations on the walls that added life and expression to his façades.
Unfortunately, not all of his ideas could be executed; Gagliardi had to be mindful of the economic factor and the money at his disposal.This was not, however, an obstacle to his imagination. Using his skill, the architect always managed to work and combine economic and aesthetic factors.

The city of museums

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The disastrous earthquake

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

Discovering the mother church

A new site for a new church

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A miniature city

Feast days

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

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

A square as the heart of the city

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The chocolate of Modica

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A majestic and luminous church

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Some masterpieces

The Baroque town by the sea

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Prominent façade

Some prestigious works

The theatre of taste

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The internal colours

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Norman apses

The church of Carmine

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

An eagle-shaped city

A half-Baroque church

Two illustrious patron saints

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

A symbol for the town

A long reconstruction

The colours of the cathedral

A hall for the feasts

The Burgos crucifix

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

Many owners, one palace

The interior and its masterpieces

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

A prominent church

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A small room with a golden entrance

A city in colour

St. Sebastian, so much work!

One city, three sites

A feast only for Scicli

New roads for Catania

Between white and black

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A new site for a new city

Searching for colour

The two churches

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A museum to save a tradition

The wall comes to life

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

One city, two sites

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A colourful floor

From International Gothic to present day

Wonderful quick decorations

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A triumph of colour

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A talking palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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