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 façade used as a puppet theatre

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The disastrous earthquake

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A talking palace

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The theatre of taste

Some masterpieces

Prominent façade

Discovering the mother church

A triumph of colour

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Feast days

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A new site for a new church

Norman apses

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A new site for a new city

A feast only for Scicli

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The two churches

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The city of museums

A hall for the feasts

A colourful floor

A city in colour

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Modica, a city with ancient origins

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A museum to save a tradition

Feasting in Palazzolo

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The internal colours

An eagle-shaped city

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

From International Gothic to present day

The Staircase of Angels

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

The interior and its masterpieces

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The church of Carmine

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

A majestic and luminous church

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A miniature city

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

The Burgos crucifix

One city, three sites

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The colours of the cathedral

Between white and black

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

Many owners, one palace

One city, two sites

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

A prominent church

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

A symbol for the town

Searching for colour

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

New roads for Catania

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The chocolate of Modica

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The Maiolica of the staircase

A small room with a golden entrance

Some prestigious works

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

A square as the heart of the city

The Baroque town by the sea

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A long reconstruction

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

Two illustrious patron saints