Holiday apartment in Ragusa: Baroque, museums and distinctive routes

Ragusa: Baroque cityscapes in the Val di Noto

Ragusa combines an exceptionally dense Baroque urban culture with museums, religious buildings and distinctive natural landscapes. The entire old town of Ragusa forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto”. Ragusa Ibla in particular defines this image: the historic district has more than fifty churches and numerous palazzi. If you are looking for a holiday apartment in Ragusa, this combination offers many specific starting points for planning your days – from architecture and art to nature and culinary enjoyment.

Ragusa Ibla and Santa Maria delle Scale

The Duomo di San Giorgio in Ragusa Ibla is a masterpiece of Sicilian late Baroque architecture by Rosario Gagliardi. Inside is a monumental organ made by the Serassi-Allieri company of Bergamo in 1881. Santa Maria delle Scale is also historically significant. It includes three surviving chapels with late Gothic rib vaults of Catalan origin and decorative stone reliefs. Santa Maria delle Scale is one of the oldest and most interesting churches in Ragusa.

Ragusa Superiore: cathedral and urban history

The Cattedrale di San Giovanni Battista was built in the new district of Ragusa Superiore after the 1693 earthquake, in the late Baroque style of the reconstruction period. Its interior features gilded capitals, Corinthian columns, a dome and broad naves. The Museo della Cattedrale San Giovanni Battista is housed on the piano nobile of the Palazzo Garofalo. This places both the architecture of the reconstruction period and a specific museum site at the centre of Ragusa Superiore.

Exhibitions focusing on religious art and archaeology

The tour of the Museo della Cattedrale San Giovanni Battista leads through seven exhibition rooms containing reliquaries, goldsmiths’ work, liturgical vestments, episcopal ornaments, liturgical texts, paintings and statues. The museum also houses the “Arca Santa” reliquary chest of John the Baptist, made in 1731. The Museo archeologico Ibleo is divided into six chronologically arranged sections and covers the historical periods documented in the Ragusa area. It offers self-guided visits with explanatory panels and admission.

Walking route, nature conservation and tasting

A walking route runs beneath the three bridges through the Vallata Santa Domenica and connects Ragusa’s two historic centres. For your planning, the current status of the Vallata is important: it is currently inaccessible because work is under way; the work is intended to improve access and extend the paths. In the wider area around Ragusa, the Macchia Foresta del Fiume Irminio nature reserve in the municipalities of Ragusa and Scicli protects the mouth of the Irminio River and the coastal ecosystem. At the Accademia della Terra, guided cultural tastings of historic national and international cheeses with wine, beer and preserves are available.

Which holiday apartment in Ragusa is right for your holiday?

When choosing your holiday apartment in Ragusa, you can therefore clarify the focus of your stay in advance: should churches, palazzi and museums provide the cultural framework, or are you more interested in the nature reserve on the Irminio and a cultural tasting?

Other places for orientation

Other places for orientation: Scicli, Vittoria, Pietre Nere San Zagaria, Marina Di Modica, Santa Croce Camerina, Michelica, Monterosso Almo and Acate.

For the higher-level travel overview: Ragusa.