Ragusa

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

hearing
Angelic song

On 24 June 1858 the church resounded with festivities.
The great organ was inaugurated, with more than three thousand pipes and a gigantic wooden cantoria (a structure built to house the choir). We can only imagine the sweet sound that accompanied that moment.
The organ still works today and can be found in the right chapel before the transept, while the cantoria was placed above the main portal.
For centuries, music and angelic songs have been an integral part of liturgical functions.
foto organo foto organo nella prima cappella di destra del transetto

touch
Pietra pece, a special stone

The dark, petroleum-infused pietra pece of the floor smells like petrol and leaves a coat of grease on your fingers like oil!
This unique rock is widely used because its particular composition can make a room resistant to humidity.

sight
Diversity makes everything more special

The two-tone interior makes the cathedral of San Giovanni Battista (St. John the Baptist) wonderful. The white walls combined with the black floor enhances both elements and adds liveliness to the environment.
Once inside the church of St. John the Baptist, our sense of sight is also stimulated by the colourful altars that crowd the side naves.
Red, green, white, gold, and even the black of the balustrades stimulate the visitor’s eye.

A colourful floor

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A city in colour

A square as the heart of the city

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A feast only for Scicli

Some prestigious works

The disastrous earthquake

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The church of Carmine

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A prominent church

A hall for the feasts

Discovering the mother church

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The interior and its masterpieces

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Searching for colour

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

The Staircase of Angels

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Wonderful quick decorations

The Burgos crucifix

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A symbol for the town

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

A museum to save a tradition

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The two churches

The internal colours

A talking palace

An eagle-shaped city

Prominent façade

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

A new site for a new city

The Baroque town by the sea

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Modica, a city with ancient origins

From International Gothic to present day

The Maiolica of the staircase

A majestic and luminous church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The wall comes to life

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A triumph of colour

Between white and black

Feast days

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The chocolate of Modica

One city, two sites

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A Nobel Prize in Modica

One city, three sites

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A miniature city

The colours of the cathedral

A half-Baroque church

Two illustrious patron saints

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

New roads for Catania

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A new site for a new church

A long reconstruction

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Norman apses

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The city of museums

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A small room with a golden entrance

Some masterpieces

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The theatre of taste

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The character of Badia Sant’Agata