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 role of the religious orders in rebuilding the Val di Noto

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Discovering the mother church

A city in colour

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A long reconstruction

A new site for a new city

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

The church of Carmine

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 Giuseppe

A prominent church

From International Gothic to present day

The Maiolica of the staircase

A miniature city

Between white and black

The chocolate of Modica

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

A colourful floor

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The city of museums

Two illustrious patron saints

Feast days

Norman apses

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A majestic and luminous church

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Limestone, the colour of harmony

New roads for Catania

A square as the heart of the city

One city, two sites

Searching for colour

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

Many owners, one palace

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

A new site for a new church

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

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

One city, three sites

The disastrous earthquake

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Baroque town by the sea

A talking palace

The two churches

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Some masterpieces

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Some prestigious works

A small room with a golden entrance

A museum to save a tradition

The colours of the cathedral

A symbol for the town

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Wonderful quick decorations

The internal colours

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The wall comes to life

A triumph of colour

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Feasting in Palazzolo

A half-Baroque church

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A feast only for Scicli

The interior and its masterpieces

Prominent façade

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A hall for the feasts

The Burgos crucifix

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A Nobel Prize in Modica

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

An eagle-shaped city

The Staircase of Angels

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The theatre of taste