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 disastrous earthquake

The theatre of taste

Searching for colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

One city, three sites

A museum to save a tradition

Feast days

A talking palace

New roads for Catania

The Baroque town by the sea

A hall for the feasts

Some masterpieces

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Wonderful quick decorations

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The internal colours

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

One city, two sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A majestic and luminous church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A feast only for Scicli

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

A small room with a golden entrance

A miniature city

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The interior and its masterpieces

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Norman apses

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

A new site for a new church

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Some prestigious works

The Burgos crucifix

The wall comes to life

Discovering the mother church

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A symbol for the town

Prominent façade

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Maiolica of the staircase

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

From International Gothic to present day

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Two illustrious patron saints

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

A new site for a new city

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A half-Baroque church

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A colourful floor

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Feasting in Palazzolo

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A square as the heart of the city

The Staircase of Angels

A triumph of colour

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A long reconstruction

The church of Carmine

An eagle-shaped city

The two churches

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

Many owners, one palace

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A city in colour

The colours of the cathedral

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The city of museums

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A prominent church

Between white and black