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Ragusa Ibla

The Baroque hill quarter of Ragusa, rebuilt after 1693 under San Giorgio's blue-grey dome.

  • Ragusa
  • District
Plan your visit
Where
Ragusa
Best for
Blue-domed San Giorgio
Allow
3 hours
Tickets
Free

After the earthquake of 1693 leveled the old city, Ragusa rebuilt itself in place rather than moving downhill like its twin, so the medieval street plan survived wrapped in a new Baroque skin.

Palaces and staircases climb the ridge toward the Cathedral of San Giorgio, Rosario Gagliardi's masterpiece, its blue-grey dome floating above a theatrical flight of steps. Wander past the majolica dome of Santa Maria dell'Itria and down to the Giardino Ibleo, a shaded nineteenth-century garden at the tip of the spur with views over the Irminio valley. Television crews love these lanes too: much of the Montalbano series was filmed here.

Sources and citations (2)
  1. Comune di RagusaCenni storiciRagusa historical overviewRead source
  2. UNESCO World Heritage CentreLate Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto (South-Eastern Sicily)Property description and inscription dataRead source

Five things worth finding

If you see nothing else, see these.

  1. Cathedral of San GiorgioRosario Gagliardi, 18th century

    Gagliardi angled the church slightly off the square so the dome shows behind the bell-tower facade; stand at the foot of the steps to see the trick.Top of Piazza Duomo, above the wide flight of steps

  2. Portale di San Giorgio15th-century Catalan Gothic

    The only piece of the pre-1693 cathedral still standing, a carved Gothic doorway that survived the earthquake on its own.Giardino Ibleo, at the eastern tip of the ridge

  3. Giardino Ibleo and the Viale delle ColonnineLaid out from 1858

    Twisted little columns topped with terracotta vases line the main path, and the formal terrace looks out over the Irminio valley.Eastern end of Ibla

  4. Santa Maria dell’ItriaRebuilt by the Knights of Malta, 1629 to 1639

    Look up at the capitals inside: the acanthus leaves have been swapped for almond leaves, a small local twist on the classical column.

  5. The view from Santa Maria delle ScaleBelvedere above the old staircase

    From up here Ibla spreads out below you as a single jumble of domes and roofs, which makes it the best place to get your bearings before walking down.Edge of Ragusa Superiore, above Ibla

Plan your visit

Everything you need before you go.

Tickets
Free
Booking
No booking needed
Time needed
3 hours
Best time
Early morning or in the evening, once day-trippers from Ragusa Superiore have gone
Getting there
Ragusa Ibla sits below Ragusa Superiore, connected by the Santa Maria delle Scale staircase (about 340 steps) or a short shuttle-bus ride; parking is limited at the district's edge.

Skip the Santa Maria delle Scale stairs in midday heat and take the little orange shuttle bus instead; it loops regularly between the two towns and drops you steps from the cathedral.

Get directionsGoogle MapsApple Maps

Good to know

How long should you spend in Ragusa Ibla?

Allow about three hours for the cathedral, the Giardino Ibleo and the lanes in between. Add a long lunch and an evening stroll and it becomes a comfortable half day.

Is Ragusa Ibla worth visiting?

Yes. It is one of the most complete late Baroque towns in Sicily, and it holds most of Ragusa’s monuments in the UNESCO Val di Noto listing, all of them walkable on a single ridge.

Can you see Ragusa Ibla and Modica in one day?

It can be done by car, since Modica and Scicli are neighboring Baroque towns in the same UNESCO group. But Ibla rewards a slow half day by itself, so pick one of the two if you would rather not rush.

More to see nearby

Same city first, then the nearest across the region.

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