Ragusa
Perched on the top of a hill Ragusa Ibla looks like an image from a fairytale. Punctuated by church domes and towers, houses cascade across its slopes with one terracotta roof seeming to spill haphazardly into another. Ragusa is the capital of the province of the same name, and is formed by the old town of Ragusa Ibla and the newer town of Upper Ragusa; the two are separated by a deep ravine, the Valle dei Ponti, and linked by four bridges.
What makes Ragusa a tourist destination is the 18 monuments listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Most are artful Baroque confections constructed after the 1693 earthquake that devastated the region, and lead to a huge rebuilding programme. Among these sites is the vertiginous Cathedral of San Giorgio started in 1739 by architectural genius Rosario Gagliardi, and completed in 1820. Its 250 marble steps lead up to flamboyant convex façade, crowned by a massive cupola visible for miles around. Inside, the church is equally elaborate, with vast red velveteen drapes strung across its high arches that lie beneath 33 stained-glass windows.
Although San Giorgio is the ultimate architectural achievement of the town, the fourteenth-century church of Santa Maria delle Scale resting on hillside corner with views of the city is almost as dramatic, as is the vast Cathedral of San Giovanni Battista that dominates the centre of Upper Ragusa.
Yet what is most enchanting is to wander through the streets of Ibla, climbing up and down its stone steps, bobbing under arches, and turning corners to witness some tiny shrine, a balcony festooned with geraniums and cacti, a crumbling palazzo that’s still a family home with washing hanging from an elegant exterior staircase, or catch a glimpse of a hidden courtyard and its drooping potted palms. End your stroll in the Giardini Iblei, a tiny botanical garden with views across the ravine, and home to three small churches. Buy an ice cream, sit on a stone-scrolled bench and just enjoy the panorama.
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Commune di Ragusa
Added 2008/07/11 @ 11:35:56
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