the history of ragusa

It all started when…

Ragusa is the richest city and province in Sicily, thanks to its extraordinary agricultural and industrial output and the more recent development of the touristic industry. In fact Ragusa has been inserted in the UNESCO world heritage, among the baroque cities of Eastern Sicily.

The history of the city of Ragusa follows the one of the cities of the Eastern part of the island once known as Val di Noto. Already from the Greek times Ragusa has been able to maintain a certain independence from the other big and powerful cities of Siracusa and Agrigento. Under the Roman ruling, the territory, once rich with forests, has been deeply transformed in order to produce wheat and other agricultural products (the name Ragusa may indeed derive from the word granary). Such agricultural growth has been later incentivized and developed by the Arabs, that brought all the most advanced agricultural techniques during their 200 years of dominance until the year 1000, when the Normans took over. From that point on the city of Ragusa has been very much independent and its power has grown so much over the years, to even include the islands of the Malta archipelagos within its territory.

Just like the other cities of the Val di Noto, the earthquake of 1693 represented a very important moment in the development of the city. From that point, two different cities have emerged: Ragusa Ibla, which was the old medieval town down in the valley that was completely destroyed by the earthquake and rebuild on the ruins of it.; and Ragusa Alta, the new city built after the earthquake on the mountains west of the old city.

Ragusa Ibla represents the very dynamic and interesting part of Ragusa that all visitors don't want to miss. In fact in this part of the town are located some of the must see sights.

Among the most beautiful churches built after the earthquake, the Duomo di San Giorgio is certainly the most beautiful. Originally the church was where there currently is the Giardino Ibleo (the extreme east of the town). The earthquake has destroyed the church, leaving only a Gothic style portal (Portale di San Giorgio), and was rebuilt on a new area. The architect (a famous architect from Noto, Rosario Gagliardi) created something unique: the church is skewed in respect to the square in front of it. This special effect allows the viewer to see both the facade and the neo-classic style dome of the church. Inside particularly important is the organ built in the XX century with 3368 pipes, a masterpiece of the time.

Among other sights not to miss there is certainly the Giardino Ibleo (the city garden) with its amazing terrace and view over the valley; the Chiesa di Santa Maria dell'Itria and its blue dome and the baroque Chiesa di San Giuseppe. Apart from these, the amount of churches in Ragusa Ibla is enormous and a pleasure of the eyes.

The biggest church in the city is the Cathedral of San Giovanni and is located in Ragusa Alta (the new town). It is one of the biggest churches in Sicily, with its big facade and an interior with 5 naves and imposing pillars.

The city includes also many private and public palaces in baroque style, as can be easily seen from the balconies decorated by dramatic faces, monsters and plants.

As said, agriculture is very important in Ragusa and the city is very famous for the production of dairy products (60% of total Sicilian production), especially for the cheese named Ragusano DOP. Important also the breeding of cows for beef, like the almost extinct cow race Modicana.

Other products are the honey from the Iblei Mountains and the very famous wine produced in the area, the Cerasuolo di Vittoria.