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 Maiolica of the staircase

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Norman apses

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A city in colour

Two illustrious patron saints

Some masterpieces

From International Gothic to present day

One city, three sites

The church of Carmine

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The theatre of taste

The two churches

A talking palace

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Many owners, one palace

Connections with other UNESCO sites

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Prominent façade

An eagle-shaped city

A museum to save a tradition

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

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

A small room with a golden entrance

A new site for a new city

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A prominent church

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A symbol for the town

A new site for a new church

A majestic and luminous church

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The interior and its masterpieces

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

A colourful floor

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The disastrous earthquake

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The chocolate of Modica

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A half-Baroque church

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Discovering the mother church

Between white and black

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

Wonderful quick decorations

The wall comes to life

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Searching for colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Staircase of Angels

Some prestigious works

The internal colours

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The city of museums

Feast days

One city, two sites

A miniature city

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

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

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A hall for the feasts

A long reconstruction

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The colours of the cathedral

The Baroque town by the sea

A square as the heart of the city

New roads for Catania

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A triumph of colour