Ragusa, one of the most picturesque towns in Sicily, a Unesco World Heritage Site, opens the most refined “living rooms” of its homes, embellished in pure Sicilian Baroque style, the style that speaks of the 18th-Century Restoration and reconstruction, a historical moment of great artistic highlights. The view from the upper town over Ragusa Ibla on its own separate hilltop is quite breathtaking. The town was originally built on a small steep-sided hill with deep valleys on three sides separating it from the high plateau. After the earthquake of 1693, which destroyed many of south-eastern Sicily’s buildings, it was decided to rebuild Ragusa on higher, more level ground nearby. This new planned town was built, with straight streets and a rational layout, but local aristocrats didn’t want to move, and instead built themselves new palazzi on the ruins of the old town. So nowadays Ragusa has two parts: Ibla (or Ragusa Ibla), the older nucleus on its hilltop, and Ragusa Superiore, the more modern upper town which spreads from the post-earthquake streets into more recent developments. The Duomo of San Giorgio is the symbol of the city’s rebirth, the work of Rosario Gagliardi, whose signature appears on many masterpieces within the Noto Valley. The church’s columns, friezes and statues render the façade with that typical Baroque ostentation. Its three naves are delineated by stone pillars, topped by finely decorated capitals.