Ragusa Cathedral (Italian : Duomo di Ragusa, Cattedrale di San Giovanni Battista) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Ragusa, Sicily, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. The present church dates from the early 18th century. It has been the seat of the Bishops of Ragusa since the establishment of the diocese in 1950.
A church of San Giovanni Battista stood before the 1693 Sicily earthquake in the west of the old town of Ragusa (Ragusa Ibla) under the walls of a medieval castle, where there now stands the church of St. Agnes. [1]
Severely damaged by the earthquake, it was rebuilt at the center of the new upper town of Ragusa in the district of "Patro". [1] On 15 April 1694 the foundation stone was laid. The church was finished after just four months, so that on 16 August the same year it was opened for worship in a solemn ceremony which was attended by all the elders of the county. The short time it took for the building indicates that it was a small church, inadequate to the needs of the new district. [1]
In 1718, therefore, the construction on the site of a larger church began. [1] Two master builders of Acireale, Giuseppe Recupero and Giovanni Arcidiacono, oversaw the project, and some architectural details of the church of San Giovanni are typical of the Baroque monuments of Acireale and Catania, such as the monumental Baroque main entrance with rusticated columns, which has significant similarities with the marble door of Acireale Cathedral. [1]
The interior dates from the 19th and 20th centuries. [2] In 1950 the church became the cathedral of the newly created Diocese of Ragusa. [2]
Noto is a city and comune in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily, Italy. It is 32 kilometres (20 mi) southwest of the city of Syracuse at the foot of the Iblean Mountains. It lends its name to the surrounding area Val di Noto. In 2002 Noto and its church were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Ragusa is a city and comune in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Ragusa, on the island of Sicily, with 73,288 inhabitants in 2016. It is built on a wide limestone hill between two deep valleys, Cava San Leonardo and Cava Santa Domenica. Together with seven other cities in the Val di Noto, it is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Acireale is a coastal city and comune in the north-east of the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy, at the foot of Mount Etna, on the coast facing the Ionian Sea. It is home to numerous churches, including the Neo-Gothic St. Pietro's Basilica, St. Sebastiano's Basilica in the Sicilian Baroque style, and the 17th century Acireale Cathedral, and a seminary, for the training of priests. Acireale is also noted for its art and paintings: the oldest academy in Sicily, the Accademia di scienze, lettere e belle arti degli Zelanti e dei Dafnici, is located here.
Sicilian Baroque is the distinctive form of Baroque architecture which evolved on the island of Sicily, off the southern coast of Italy, in the 17th and 18th centuries, when it was part of the Spanish Empire. The style is recognisable not only by its typical Baroque curves and flourishes, but also by distinctive grinning masks and putti and a particular flamboyance that has given Sicily a unique architectural identity.
Modica is a city and comune of 54,456 inhabitants in the Province of Ragusa, Sicily, southern Italy. The city is situated in the Hyblaean Mountains.
The Diocese of Noto is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Sicily, Italy. It is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Siracusa. Monsignor Antonio Staglianò is the current bishop of the diocese of Noto.
The Diocese of Acireale is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Sicily. It has existed since 1844. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Catania.
Acireale Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the city of Acireale in Sicily, province of Catania, Italy. It was declared the seat of the Bishop of Acireale in 1870. It was declared a minor basilica in 1957.
The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Agatha, usually known as the Catania Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Catania, Sicily, southern Italy. It was the seat of the Bishops of Catania until 1859, when the diocese was elevated to an archdiocese, and since then has been the seat of the Archbishops of Catania.
San Benedetto is a late-Baroque architecture, Roman Catholic church and former Benedictine monastery in the city Catania, Sicily, southern Italy. The church facade faces Via Crociferi, parallels across via San Benedetto the former-Jesuit church of San Francesco Borgia, and both are about a block south along Crociferi from the church and convent of San Giuliano. Entrance to church and monastery appear to be through Piazza Asmundo #9 near the apse of the church.
Noto Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Noto in Sicily, Italy. Its construction, in the style of the Sicilian Baroque, began in the early 18th century and was completed in 1776. It is dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Myra, and has been the cathedral of the Diocese of Noto since the diocese's establishment in 1844.
The Duomo of San Giorgio is a Baroque church in Modica, Ragusa, Sicily, Italy. It is the mother church of the city and is included in the World Heritage List by UNESCO.
Santa Caterina d'Alessandria or Saint Catherine of Alexandria is a Roman Catholic church with a main facade on Piazza Bellini, and a lateral Western facade facing the elaborate Fontana Pretoria, in the historic quarter of Kalsa in the city of Palermo, region of Sicily, Italy. In front of the main facade, across the piazza Bellini, rise the older churches of San Cataldo and Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio, while across Piazza Pretoria is the Theatine church of San Giuseppe and the entrance to the Quattro Canti. Refurbished over the centuries, the church retains elements and decorations from the Renaissance, Baroque, and late-Baroque (Rococo) eras. This church is distinct from the Oratorio di Santa Caterina found in the Olivella neighborhood.
San Bartolomeo is a late Baroque-style, Roman Catholic church in the town of Scicli, province of Ragusa, Sicily, Italy.
San Giuseppe is a Baroque-style, Roman Catholic church located in the city of Ragusa, in southern Sicily, Italy.
Antonino Raspanti is an Italian Bishop of the Catholic Church; he has been the Bishop of Acireale since 26 July 2011.
Marsala Cathedral is the largest church in the town of Marsala, Sicily, and the Diocese of Mazara del Vallo. Its facade faces onto piazza della Repubblica and the nearby via Giuseppe Garibaldi. It is dedicated to the Anglo-Norman saint Thomas Becket, whose cult was introduced to Sicily via its close relations with England under William I and William II – the latter even married Henry II of England's daughter Joan, who also supported Thomas' cult despite Henry's part in triggering his death.
Badia di Sant'Agata or Abbey of St Agatha refers to an 18th-century Roman Catholic church and attached female convent located on Via Vittorio Emanuele #182 in the center of Catania, region of Sicily, Southern Italy. The Baroque style church facade is across the street from the left transept of the Cathedral of Catania.
San Pietro is a Roman Catholic church located in the lower town of Modica, province of Ragusa, Sicily, Italy.
Chiesa di Maria Santissima Annuziata is a Roman Catholic parish and minor basilica church located in the city of Comiso, in the province of Ragusa, Italy. The church is dedicated to the Marian devotion of the Virgin of the Annunciation.