Honeymoon Sicily | Ragusa
Ragusa was very badly damaged in the 1693 earthquake with the town split in half and divided by a deep ravine
known as the "Valle dei Ponti" the older town known as Ragusa Ibla
and the other town known as Ragusa Superior
Ragusa Ibla the lower city boasts an impressive array of Baroque architecture which includes
the Church of San Giorgio by Rosario Gagliardi designed in 1738. In the design
of this church Gagliardi exploited the difficult terrain of the hillside site. The church towers
impressively over a massive marble staircase of some 250 steps, a Baroque feature
especially exploited in Sicily due to the island's topography
The church spires seem to explode from it's façade, accentuated by the
columns and pilasters canted against the curved walls.
Above the doorways and window apertures pediments scroll and curve with a sense of freedom and
movement, which would have been unthinkable to those earlier architects
inspired by Bernini and Borromini.
The neoclassical dome was not added until 1820.
In an alley connecting Ragusa Ibla with Ragusa Superiore is the church of Santa Maria delle Scale.
This church is interesting although was badly damaged in the earthquake. Only half the church was
rebuilt in Baroque style while the surviving half was kept in the original Norman (Gothic features)
thus demonstrating in one piece the evolution of Sicilian Baroque.
The Palazzo Zacco is one of the more notable Baroque buildings of the city with its Corinthian columns
supporting balconies of amazing wrought iron work including supports of grotesques fiqures that mock, shock and amuse
the passerby. The palazzo was built in the second half of the 18th century by the Baron Melfi di
San Antonio. It was later acquired by the Zacco family, after which it is named
The building has two street façades each with six wide balconies bearing the coat of
arms of the Melfi family The balconies are feature of the palazzo and
are notable for the differing grotesque corbels which support them.
The focal points of the principal façade are the three central balconies divided
by columns with Corinthian capitals. Here the balconies are supported
by images of musicians with grotesque faces
The Cathedral of San Giovanni Battista in Ragusa Superiore was built between 1718 and 1778.
Its principal façade is pure Baroque, containing fine carvings and sculptures.
The cathedral has a high Sicilian belfry in the same style. The ornate Baroque interior
is separated into three colonnaded aisles.
Ragusa Superiore the most badly damaged part of the town was replanned following
1693 earthquake around the cathedral and displays an
unusual phenomenon of Sicilian Baroque.The palazzi here are peculiar to this town,
only two storeys tall and long with a central bay only emphasised by a balcony and an
arch to the inner garden. This very Portuguese style probably designed to minimise
damage in future earthquakes is very different from the palazzi in Ragusa Ibla which are in
true Sicilian style.