Ragusa

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

taste
A freshwater spring

Not far from the church of San Giuseppe (St. Joseph) is Porta Walter. It was built in medieval times and allowed people to leave the city and visit the lush green valley of Santa Domenica.
From here they would reach a spring where inhabitants rushed to quench their thirst and collect as much water as possible, especially on long, sweltering summer days!

sight
A question of perspective!

Depending on the time of day, the levels of the façade and its various elements create a unique and fascinating combination of light effects.
The plays of light and shadow change from hour to hour.
The endless chiaroscuro effects uncover and hide new details each time.

touch
Such rich materials!

The church brings out the diversity of the materials and the infinite possibilities for their use. As a matter of fact, the glass used in the large windows of the vault was also used to decorate the altars with a process that imitates marble.
Used for the worshippers’ seating, wood also proves to be an excellent material for beautiful wooden sculptures such as the Madonna near the altar.
madonna in legno altare

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A half-Baroque church

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Two illustrious patron saints

The chocolate of Modica

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A museum to save a tradition

The two churches

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

The city of museums

A long reconstruction

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Prominent façade

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

A miniature city

Many owners, one palace

A symbol for the town

Between white and black

From International Gothic to present day

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Some masterpieces

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Burgos crucifix

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A colourful floor

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Feast days

A new site for a new city

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A majestic and luminous church

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A talking palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The church of Carmine

The internal colours

A prominent church

The theatre of taste

A feast only for Scicli

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A small room with a golden entrance

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

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

A triumph of colour

The interior and its masterpieces

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The colours of the cathedral

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Feasting in Palazzolo

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

New roads for Catania

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Norman apses

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

An eagle-shaped city

Wonderful quick decorations

The Staircase of Angels

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Maiolica of the staircase

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

One city, three sites

Searching for colour

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

A square as the heart of the city

The wall comes to life

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Some prestigious works

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

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

A new site for a new church

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

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

One city, two sites

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

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The disastrous earthquake