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.

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A small room with a golden entrance

Prominent façade

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A symbol for the town

Some prestigious works

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The wall comes to life

A prominent church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

The Staircase of Angels

A triumph of colour

A new site for a new church

A feast only for Scicli

A long reconstruction

One city, three sites

A talking palace

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

The disastrous earthquake

An eagle-shaped city

Feast days

One city, two sites

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

New roads for Catania

Searching for colour

A hall for the feasts

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

The two churches

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

The chocolate of Modica

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Discovering the mother church

The Baroque town by the sea

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

Between white and black

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Norman apses

The church of Carmine

A majestic and luminous church

A city in colour

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Wonderful quick decorations

A museum to save a tradition

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

From International Gothic to present day

The Burgos crucifix

The theatre of taste

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A miniature city

Two illustrious patron saints

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Many owners, one palace

The internal colours

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A colourful floor

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Some masterpieces

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

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

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

The city of museums

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The interior and its masterpieces

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The colours of the cathedral