To get acquainted with the history and traditions of the area, any visit to Ragusa should start in the heart of Ragusa's commercial district at the city's archaeological museum, under the Mediteranean Palace Hotel. The museum was opened in 1960 and its five sections house priceless artefacts that offer an insight into the region's past. The first section deals with prehistory and in particular the Bronze Age (1800 - 1400BC) and there is evidence of Siculian villages in the surrounds. The second section is the largest and deals with the finds of the necropolis complexes of Passo Marinaro, Rifriscolano and Dieci Salme which belonged to the Greek city of Camarina (8^th- 3^rd Centuries BC). The third section is devoted to the homes of the ancient Sicilians especially the indigenous centres of Monte Cassia near Licodia Eubea and Castiglione.
The fourth section deals with the Greek centres of the region. From this period there are interesting finds in the Scornavacche area near Chiaramonte. A large number of furnaces were discovered, testifying to the importance of that area as a centre of ceramics. A furnace has been faithfully reconstructed in this section of the museum The fifth section is dedicated to the finds regarding the Roman and late Roman settlements, principally from the dig at Caucana near Santa Croce Camerina. The most interesting feature of this section is certainly the reconstructed floor mosaic picturing animals.

Ragusa is divided by the spectacular Valley of Santa Domenica and you get a fine view of it when you leave the museum. Three bridges span the valley and unite the 17^th century and 19^th century parts of town. The central bridge is the oldest and is now closed to traffic and was built in 1835 by the Capuchin Father. Via Roma is Ragusa's main street and shopping area. Waliking along it from the bridge we cross Corso Italia which is the central axis of the city's grid system and crosses the city from East to West. On the other side of Corso Italia at number 109 Via Roma is the recently restored Palazzo Schininà, now home to the Bishop of Ragusa. The northern end of via Roma opens out into a small area with benches which afford a magnificent view of the valley of San Leonardo, a limestone gorge typical of the Iblean hills.

At the junction of via Roma and Corso Italia we find the cathedral of San Giovanni, best admired from just below via Roma in Piazza San Giovanni, Ragusa's drawing room. The cathedral, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, was started in 1706 and work continued on and off for decades. It was finally consecrated in 1778. It is a masterpiece of the architecture of the time and was the opus of two masters of their art, Mario Spata and Rosario Boscarino. The façade features three large doorways and the central one is decorated with statues representing the Immaculate Conception, John the Baptist and John the Evangelist. The façade also features an interesting sundial.

The cruciform interior, which has three naves, boasts intricate plasterwork. The statue of the Saint is in pitch-coloured stone and is the opera of Angelo Rocchetti and dates from 1513. It had originally had pride of place in another older church that was destroyed in the 1693 earthquake. The wooden statue carried in the procession dates from 1858 and was created by the local artist Carmelo "Giuppino" Licita. Some of the pictures housed in the cathedral include the Christ of Manna, San Filippo Neri del Conca and San Gregorio Magno di Paolo Vetri. Just next to the cathedral in Corso Italia we find the Collegio di Maria built in 1796 by D. Felicia Schininà. Inside, it contains a number of paintings by Tommaso Pollaci.

Corso Italia is lined by a number of 18th century buildings including Palazzo Lupis, notable for its ornamental balconies. A little further down we enter Piazza Matteotti where we can see the Palazzo delle Poste on our left and on the right, on the Corso itself, the Palazzo del Comune (1880). The Palazzo was extended in 1929 to house the prefecture and in its magnificent reception room we can see interesting frescoes by Duilio Cambelotti dating from 1933.

Further down, Corso Italia is crossed by via San Vito which leads to the newest of the three bridges, dating from 1964. About 100 metres from the corner with Corso Vittoria Veneto we can admire the Baroque Palazzo Zacco with its ornamental balconies and then back on Corso Italia at No.35, we have the much photographed Palazzo Bertini with its famous masks with their tongues sticking out.

Further down again we come across via Scuole which leads to the Carmelite church. This church was founded in 1560, reconstructed in the 1700s but unfortunately demolished in the 1950s. There now stands a modern church in its place.

Now Corso Italia becomes via XXIV Maggio. The first building of note on this street is a grotto built in 1838 in gratitude to the Virgin Mary for relief from a cholera epidemic. It was built alongside the house of Doctor Giuseppe Carbonaro who bravely fought against the outbreak.

Via XXIV Maggio then becomes Corso Mazzini which winds its way down the hillside to Ibla and immediately on the right we find the church of Santa Maria delle Scale (of the steps), sometimes known as the Church delle Cateratte. It was rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake. However there survive some interesting features of the previous primitive 15th century church including the gothic pulpit and renaissance period and Catalan-Gothic chapels inside. An interesting terracotta relief can also be seen figuring the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. It dates fom 1538 and is of the Gagin school.
From this point we can admire one of the most beautiful views of Ragusa Ibla.

Continuing downwards towards Ibla by way of the steps we arrive in one of Ragusa's most attractive little squares. The ornate Baroque Palazzo della Cancelleria is on our left while beside it we have the Church of the Madonna dell'Idria which was built after the 1693 earthquake on the site of an earlier church which had been founded by the Knights of the Order of Malta. The bell tower is decorated with Caltagirone ceramic tiles. Then, next to the church we can admire Palazzo Cosentini with its ornate and grotesque masks and balconies which are among Ragusa's most beautiful.

Our next stop is Piazza Repubblica, also known as Piazza degli Archi because at one time it was crossed by the arches of an acquaduct. The Church of the Anime Sante del Purgatorio at the top of a steep set of steps dominates the piazza. The church's free-standing bell tower's has its foundations on he city's ancient Byzantine walls. The church's interior is interesting, in particular the art work on the altars. On the main altar we have the Souls of Purgatory by the artist Francesco Manno and on the side Our Lady of the Rosary by Antonino Manno and The Holy Family by Tommaso Pollaci. Almost right next to the church we can see the 18^th century Palazzo Sortino Trono, another fine example of immense Baroque plasterwork and sculpture. It has recently been acquired by the city council and it will house the museum of contemporary art and the Carmelo Cappello civic collection.

A walk along via Del Mercato affords fine views of the Valle del San Leonardo and some typical Iblean countryside and leads to via Chiaramonte where we find the secondary entrance to the severe looking Palazzo Battaglia. The Main entrance is to be found on via Orfanotrofio. Further on we come across the Church of the Immacolata or Immaculate Conception. This church rose from the ruins of the convent of the frati Minori Conventuali which previously stood on the site. A Gothic doorway and the bell tower are all that remains of the ancient structure.

Following via Tenente La Rocca and then via Giardini we get to the town park or Giardino Ibleo. The garden is beautiful in itself but it also conceals three gems. The first is the Church of San Domenico, originally built in 1569 and rebuilt after the earthquake. The original Church of San Giacomo or St. James dated from the 14^th century and had three naves. The present church, again built after the disaster of 1693, was constructed on the site of the only nave that withstood the tremor. There are three sculptures on the bell tower. On the right is St. John the Evangelist while perhaps the most interesting is that of St. James in the centre. He is pictured according to the Iberian tradition on horseback in combat against the Moors. The interior houses a sumptuous wooden ceiling painted by the local artist Matteo Battaglia. The sacristy is home to a 17^th century crucifix of the Spanish school. The third church inside the gardens is that of the Cappucini or Capuchins. It, like the adjacent convent, was rebuilt post-1693 and inside a painting by Pietro Novelli is of particular note: The Assumption, St. Agatha and St. Agnes are pictured and it is, without doubt, the most precious of all the artwork to be found in the entire province of Ragusa.

The Doorway of Saint George (il Portale) is just outside the park on the left and is built in a Gothic-Catalan style. It was all that remained of the ancient Church of Saint George, destroyed by the 1693 quake. Above the doorway the figure of St.George slaying the dragon is to be seen.

From the park, going up via 25 Aprile we have the Church of San Tommaso or St. Thomas on the right. After the quake it was built on the site of a pre-existing Norman church that had been dedicated to Santa Maria di Valverde. Its most notable features are its baptismal font in pitch-stained stone and the painting of the Madonna del Carmelo attributed to Vito d'Anna on the high altar.

Further on up via 25 Aprile we arrive at piazza Pola where we can see the Church of San Giuseppe or St.Joseph. The façade is clearly reminiscient of that of San Giorgio and is clearly of the Gagliardi school. The oval interior contains some paintings by Matteo Battaglia, the Holy Family by Tommaso Pollace, Saint Geltrude and Saint Benedict by Giuseppe Cristodoro and, by Sebastiano LoMonaco a painting of the Most Holy Trinity and on the ceiling a representation of the glory of Saint Benedict.

At the top of via 25 Aprile is the centrepiece of Ragusa Ibla, Piazza Duomo. A wonderful row of Baroque palaces is crowned by the Church that is the very symbol of the city, San Giorgio or St. George. The Duomo is the work of the architect Rosario Gagliardi from Siracusa. He is responsible for many of the masterpieces of Baroque architecture that characterises, not only Ragusa, and in particular Ibla, but also the entire Val di Noto. Work began in 1738 on the site of the Church of San Nicolò or rather on the site where that church had stood prior to 1693. It was completed in 1775. The towering façade is typical of Gagliardi and he used this technique for other projects. It is surely one of the finest examples of Sicilian Baroque architecture. The 43-metre high dome was only finished in 1820 by Carmelo Cultrari. The wrought-iron gates at the bottom of the 54 steps leading to the main doors date from 1880 and were created by Angelo Paradiso.

The cruciform interior which reveals stained glass windows were designed by Amalia Panicati in 1926 and represents the martyrdom of the saint. A woodcut is to be seen on the main door. The cathedral also contains some canvasses by Antonio Manno which feature the Immaculate Conception, the glory of San Nicola, the Guardian Angel by Vito D'Anna and Santa Gaudenzia.

Only a few kilometres to the south of the city we find Marina di Ragusa. It is an attractive seaside resort which was originally known as Mazzarelli, which comes from the Arabic word which means little town. It served as a little port for the export of the cheese, carobs and cereals that were produced in the countryside around Ragusa and had a watchtower to defend itself against the piracy of the 16th century.
It remained, for the most part, however a sleepy fishing village up until the 1870s when the first asphalt mines were opened in the area and it suddenly became the departure point for tons of Ragusa's very own black gold which were to tar the streets of the world's most important cities from Beijing to Buenos Aires, not to mention the important European capitals of Paris, London, Berlin and Amsterdam.
Then in the 1960s it was rediscovered as an ideal holiday resort with its long golden strands and crystal clear waters. Thus the ancient Mazzarelli became the thoroughly modern Marina di Ragusa without losing any of its old world charm and character. Today it has become a leading seaside town in the region, famous for its top-class facilities and above all for the beauty of its beaches

The poetic ring of Donnafugata, which in Italian means kidnapped woman, probably has logical origins in the Arabic ayn as jafat which means fountain of health. Indeed there exists a spring in the surrounds of the castle. The castle is in fact a noble villa built in its present form by the Baron Corrado Arezzo De Spucches in the early 1900s. It lies in the heart of an area of outstanding natural beauty, famous for the little farms and carob orchards that dot the landscape. It is half way down the road that leads from Castiglione to Camarina, known locally as la strada dei cinque zucchi.

The 2500 square meters and 122 rooms of the castle are built in an impeccable Venetian Gothic style. It's façade is decorated with eight balconies which open onto the grand terrace under the loggia. Among its most important rooms we should remember the Heraldry Room whose walls are decorated with the coats of arms of all the most important Sicilian families and the Hall of Mirrors, ornately finished with noble curtains and it goes without saying, tasteful mirrors. The billiard room, the Bishop's apartments, the Gallery, the music room, the drawing room, the library and the guest rooms are all works of art in themselves and when seen together make a visit to the castle an unforgettable plunge into the noble past.

The use of pitch stained local stone for the floors of the rooms of the castle is another interesting feature. The castle is surrounded by eight hectares of landscaped garden and parkland as desired by the Baron who was an expert in botany. The Baron instructed the gardens of the castle to be filled with aromatic plants and herbs whose scents still gloriously pervade the garden air. The Baron also had a number of buildings erected for the comfort and enjoyment of his numerous guests such as the coffee house and the church. The garden's most striking feature however has to be its labyrinth, a truly spectacular maze, guaranteed to make you get lost in its countless dead ends and turns. Other ornamental features wanted by the Baron are the grotto reproducing a karst limestone landscape and the decorative vases in highly prized Caltagirone ceramics that dot the garden.