Page 390 - The Rough Guide of Sicily

Tuscany and Pugli, Ibla is, however, something of a charmed and slightly unreal

museum town, with just 2000 inhabitants (out of a total of around 72,000) and little in
the way of everyday Sicilian life. It is, however, undeniably gorgeous, and wandering
along its limestone pavements, past the grand facades of golden palaces and town
houses, is like walking onto a film set. What’s more, Ibla is virtually traffic free, and
certainly makes for a very agreeable night or two’s stay.

San Giorgio

Piazza del Duomo • Mon & Wed–Sun 10am–12.30pm & 4–6.30pm, Tues 4–6.30pm • Enter up the steps to the left-
hand side

The central focus of Ragusa Ibla is the sloping Piazza del Duomo, split by six palms,
which ends in impressive wrought-iron fencing, beyond which broad steps lead to the
church of San Giorgio. A masterpiece of Sicilian Baroque, it’s the work of Rosario
Gagliardi – one of Noto’s chief architects – and took nearly forty years to complete.
Its three-tiered facade, with sets of triple columns climbing up the wedding-cake
exterior to a balconied belfry, is an imaginative work, though typically not matched

inside. As with Gagliardi’s other projects, all the beauty is in the immediacy of the
powerful exterior. The architect gets another credit for the elegant rounded facade and
bulging balconies of San Giuseppe in Piazza Pola, 200m below San Giorgio.

The Giardini Ibleo and around

The main Corso XXV Aprile runs down the hill through the restored heart of town,
past stores selling designer sunglasses, “slow food” gourmet delis, galleries and wine
bars. At the foot of town, the Giardino Ibleo public garden is a favourite spot for an
evening stroll and a drink in the nearby cafés. You can enjoy dramatic views from the
very edge of the spur on which the town is built, while the violet-strewn flowerbeds
set off the remains of three small churches, abandoned in the grounds. To the right of

the garden’s entrance stands the Portale San Giorgio, a surviving Gothic church
portal whose badly worn stone centrepiece depicts a skeletal St George killing the
dragon.

Ragusa Superiore

If you’re driving – in which case you can head straight to Ibla – you might not visit the
upper town of Ragusa Superiore at all, though that’s where most of the city’s shops
and services are located. It’s built on a grid plan, slipping off to right and left on either
side of the sloping Corso Italia, just off which stands the sombre Duomo, completed in
1774. Although Baroque Ragusa received its share of good-looking buildings (like the
few grand palazzi down Corso Italia), most of the architects’ efforts seem to have
been devoted to keeping the streets as straight as possible, and the town’s most

striking vistas are where this right-angled order is interrupted by a deep gorge,