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

A symbol for the town

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

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A half-Baroque church

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

New roads for Catania

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A city in colour

The church of Carmine

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A new site for a new church

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A colourful floor

The theatre of taste

Wonderful quick decorations

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Some masterpieces

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

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A feast only for Scicli

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

The internal colours

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A prominent church

Feast days

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The two churches

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Two illustrious patron saints

Prominent façade

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A miniature city

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Between white and black

Some prestigious works

The wall comes to life

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

The Burgos crucifix

The disastrous earthquake

The Baroque town by the sea

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A majestic and luminous church

The Staircase of Angels

The chocolate of Modica

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

An eagle-shaped city

One city, two sites

A triumph of colour

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

A museum to save a tradition

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Many owners, one palace

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The city of museums

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A new site for a new city

Modica, a city with ancient origins

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Discovering the mother church

From International Gothic to present day

The colours of the cathedral

One city, three sites

A square as the heart of the city

A long reconstruction

A talking palace

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A hall for the feasts

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Feasting in Palazzolo

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Searching for colour

Norman apses

The Maiolica of the staircase