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.

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The disastrous earthquake

The two churches

A talking palace

A prominent church

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Some prestigious works

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A square as the heart of the city

The Baroque town by the sea

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Staircase of Angels

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

An eagle-shaped city

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A colourful floor

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A symbol for the town

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The wall comes to life

A new site for a new church

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

Discovering the mother church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

One city, three sites

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

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

The colours of the cathedral

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The city of museums

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Modica, a city with ancient origins

New roads for Catania

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Limestone, the colour of harmony

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A triumph of colour

A feast only for Scicli

Prominent façade

The theatre of taste

The interior and its masterpieces

The Burgos crucifix

Between white and black

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A city in colour

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

Two illustrious patron saints

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

A new site for a new city

One city, two sites

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The church of Carmine

Some masterpieces

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

Feast days

Searching for colour

The internal colours

Feasting in Palazzolo

A half-Baroque church

A hall for the feasts

A museum to save a tradition

A miniature city

The chocolate of Modica

The Maiolica of the staircase

A Nobel Prize in Modica

From International Gothic to present day

Norman apses

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

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto