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 story of the church of San Giovanni Battista

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A colourful floor

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

A hall for the feasts

A triumph of colour

Between white and black

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A city in colour

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

A half-Baroque church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The city of museums

Norman apses

The wall comes to life

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A majestic and luminous church

The internal colours

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The two churches

Some masterpieces

A talking palace

A small room with a golden entrance

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A new site for a new city

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Many owners, one palace

A long reconstruction

The Staircase of Angels

The theatre of taste

Searching for colour

One city, three sites

Discovering the mother church

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The disastrous earthquake

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Some prestigious works

A symbol for the town

Wonderful quick decorations

A square as the heart of the city

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Maiolica of the staircase

Prominent façade

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The church of Carmine

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Two illustrious patron saints

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A new site for a new church

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The colours of the cathedral

The interior and its masterpieces

Feast days

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

A prominent church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

One city, two sites

A miniature city

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

An eagle-shaped city

A feast only for Scicli

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

New roads for Catania

From International Gothic to present day

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras