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 talking palace

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

Between white and black

Two illustrious patron saints

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

A square as the heart of the city

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Feast days

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Discovering the mother church

The disastrous earthquake

The interior and its masterpieces

Norman apses

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Searching for colour

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A city in colour

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A museum to save a tradition

A majestic and luminous church

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The façade used as a puppet theatre

An eagle-shaped city

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The theatre of taste

A hall for the feasts

The internal colours

New roads for Catania

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

From International Gothic to present day

The two churches

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

A colourful floor

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Some prestigious works

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Wonderful quick decorations

A miniature city

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The church of Carmine

A prominent church

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Maiolica of the staircase

Many owners, one palace

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A feast only for Scicli

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Baroque town by the sea

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

The chocolate of Modica

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

One city, three sites

A triumph of colour

The city of museums

A new site for a new city

Prominent façade

The Burgos crucifix

A long reconstruction

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A half-Baroque church

One city, two sites

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The wall comes to life

A symbol for the town

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A new site for a new church

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