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.

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Wonderful quick decorations

From International Gothic to present day

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A symbol for the town

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Some prestigious works

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

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

Prominent façade

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Two illustrious patron saints

Searching for colour

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A miniature city

A hall for the feasts

The Maiolica of the staircase

The internal colours

A triumph of colour

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

The chocolate of Modica

The theatre of taste

A half-Baroque church

The Burgos crucifix

The interior and its masterpieces

A new site for a new church

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A prominent church

Some masterpieces

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

The city of museums

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

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

New roads for Catania

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A talking palace

A majestic and luminous church

The Staircase of Angels

A colourful floor

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The colours of the cathedral

Norman apses

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Between white and black

A square as the heart of the city

The wall comes to life

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

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

A feast only for Scicli

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

An eagle-shaped city

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Feasting in Palazzolo

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Feast days

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

One city, three sites

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A new site for a new city

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Many owners, one palace

The disastrous earthquake

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The two churches

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

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The church of Carmine

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A city in colour

A long reconstruction

A museum to save a tradition

One city, two sites

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra