Ragusa
Ragusa is right at the heart of the "land of the carob, the olive and honey" wonderfully described by Gesualdo Bufalino, sweetly revealing, before our eyes, silent and tranquil scenarios, uniform flatness broken by the limpid geometries of low walls which trace out non-existent labyrinths. It stretches out white and grey on a long and narrow rock spur between two deep and steep valleys. A third valley, almost an isthmus, separates the two nuclei of the town: Ibla, to the east, the oldest part, with an irregular and picturesque layout, rich in splendid Baroque edifices, and upper Ragusa, to the west, with a modern look, extending towards the south, spanning the Santa Domenica quarry with three bold bridges. Thus is it seen from a distance, with the clear eye of the visitor. From close up Ragusa is a sleepy provincial town, Sundays spent walking in the main thoroughfare, with the ambition of having a solution for everything; peeping between closed shutters hiding the cool of spendid ancestral mansions; counting the doves amid the twirls of the busy Baroque sculpting the houses. Ragusa is an old mansized town, woman-sized, child-sized, clean, the colour of stone, in the air like a scent of honey. Ibla, the ancient Hyblea Heraia of the Siculi who dominated the valley of the Irminio, was colonised by the Greeks of Syracuse and over the centuries shared the fate of the vhole of sicily, going through the dominions of the Romans, the Byzantines, the Arabs, the Normans, the Angevins and the Spanish. Totally destroyed by the terrible earthquake of 1693, it rose up again, extending to the west and being decorated with fine Baroque monuments which you come across practically everywhere. Avisit to Ragusa takes one day. Artistic Heritage The Cathedral- Dedicated to St. John, it rises imposingly at the Junction of the two main streets of upper Ragusa, Via Roma and Corso Italia. It was built starting from 1694 and looks out, with a broad hanging terrace, on Piazza san Giovanni. The broad and lively facade is flanked by a massive bell tower ending in a cusp. The interior has three naves; in it there are nineteenth-century chapels decorated with fine stuccoes. Santa Maria delle Scale - It is a little church founded for the Cistercians in the fourteenth century, near the long flight of steps connecting upper Ragusa to Ragusa Ibla. It was rebuilt after the earthquake, preserving, outside, the original Gothic portal and pulpit, and, inside, the four chapels with Gothic and Renaissance Arcades. Ibleo Garden-This is the municipal park of Ragusa Ibla. In it there is the San Domenico church. Not far away there is the Capuchin church, whose importance is linked to the fact that in it there is kept the triptych painted by Pietro Novelli, and the ancient portal of the tumble-down San Giorgio Vecchio church, a fine example of Gothic architecture. The Duomo- Dedicated to St.George, it rises high over Piazza Duomo from the top of an imposing flight of steps leading to the portal surmounted by beatiful low reliefs showing scenes from the martyrdom of St. George. The high and soaring facade, almost seeming to want to reach the sky, is a masterpiece by Rosario Gagliardi (who also did - among other things - the similar splendid facade of San Giorgio at Modica). The interior has a Latin cross layout. In it there stands out the majestic Serassi organ, which since 1881 has been called Organum Maximum, in that it is the biggest one over built by the Serassi company. In addition to the arches and the decorated ceilings, there stand out 33 storied windows, twelve of which show scenes from the martyrdom of St. George, the patron saint of Ibla (St. John is the patron saint of upper Ragusa).