Ragusa

Searching for colour

The interior of the church of San Giuseppe (St. Joseph) is a single large oval-shaped room.
The Friar Alberto Maria di San Giovanni Battista most likely took inspiration for its floor plan from the church of Santa Chiara (St. Claire) in Noto.
The architect friar had two entrances built, one from Piazza Pola and the other directly from the convent for access by the nuns. As you enter the church you are surprised and overwhelmed by its very high ceiling, an effect achieved thanks to the majestic dome and the four windows that fill the space with light.
Ingresso verso l’altare foto dal basso verso l’alto della cupola
As for the walls, they were left white with some golden stucco decoration.
This pallor, however, is immediately broken up by four colourful altars placed along the walls, the painting on the high altar and the vault fresco.

zoom affresco della volta
affresco della volta

The painting with the Holy Family was created by painter Matteo Battaglia from Ragusa and the fresco with the Glory of St. Benedict is the work of Sebastiano Lo Monaco, an artist from Catania.
To add colour to the room, and to create a strong contrast with the white walls, black pietra pece was used for the floor, which features a white limestone decoration.
uno degli altari sulle pareti pavimento

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

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

Many owners, one palace

The disastrous earthquake

Feasting in Palazzolo

The chocolate of Modica

The Burgos crucifix

The Baroque town by the sea

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

The internal colours

The two churches

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Searching for colour

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Norman apses

An eagle-shaped city

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A talking palace

A city in colour

A hall for the feasts

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The wall comes to life

Some masterpieces

A triumph of colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Discovering the mother church

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A prominent church

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Two illustrious patron saints

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

New roads for Catania

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Between white and black

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

Prominent façade

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The colours of the cathedral

A small room with a golden entrance

A museum to save a tradition

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

From International Gothic to present day

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A new site for a new church

Feast days

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

Wonderful quick decorations

The city of museums

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

One city, three sites

A half-Baroque church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Some prestigious works

A long reconstruction

A new site for a new city

One city, two sites

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The theatre of taste

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

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A miniature city

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Maiolica of the staircase

The interior and its masterpieces

A feast only for Scicli

A colourful floor

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A symbol for the town

A majestic and luminous church

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The church of Carmine

Limestone, the colour of harmony