This post is the continuation of a series documenting our travels to the Eastern part of the Italian island of Sicily in the Spring of 2025. We were now at the penultimate stop of our vacation, the picture postcard hill town of Ragusa. We had spent the first day exploring Ragusa Ibla which was the prettier, older part of town ( Ragusa Ibla, the most charming hill town in Sicily – Exploring Eastern Sicily, Part 10 ).
We woke up the next morning to enjoy the sunrise from our perfect terrace room at the B&B Terra del Sole. It started off with the skies being overcast, so we didn’t see the sun actually come up although we did enjoy the skies changing colour in the backdrop of the pretty town.
Overcast skies as we wake up on our first morning in Ragusa
The sun hides behind a layer of clouds as it rises
The breakfast area of the B&B Terra del Sole early in the morning
After the sun had fully risen in the sky and there was still time for breakfast to be served I put on the 300mm and waited for the resident Goldfinches to make their appearance. As I waited for the little birds to make their appearance I got photos of 2 other common birds for the region the hooded crow and a full gang of rowdy Spotless Starlings.
A hooded crow from our terrace room at Ragusa
A Spotless Starling creates a ruckus early in the morning
A full flock of Spotless Starlings enjoy the sunrise with us
Finally the colourful little Goldfinch didn’t disappoint as it perched on the antenna right next to our terrace giving me some great close up photos. That was a perfect start to my day and I freshened up and got ready to go for breakfast with a smile on my face.
Some great close up photos of the pretty European Goldfinch
The better half takes photos of me doing what I enjoy – photographing birds!
We got ready and went down for breakfast where our always smiling host was ready for us and directed us to our table. We then proceeded to enjoy yet another sumptuous breakfast consisting of Fresh fruits, Freshly baked bread and Croissants, Pomegranate juice, cold cuts, Sicilian cheeses, Salad, yogurt and boiled eggs. We filled up as we had planned a walk up the endless series of stairs to Ragusa Superiore as our sightseeing for the morning.
Enjoying a delicious breakfast at the B & B Terra del Sole
We then left the B & B through the shortcut to the stairs and started our climb up to Ragusa Superiore. We stopped at the Balcony of a Church called “Chiesa di Santa Maria della Scale” literally translated to Church of St Mary of the Stairs! The balcony has great views over Ragusa Ibla and I made a mental note to myself to make this climb at sunrise if we got a clear morning in our remaining days here. The church itself which is the only one that predates the earthquake was closed that early in the morning. I was hoping it would be open when we were on our way back down. For now we enjoyed ourselves taking countless photos with the beautiful Ragusa Ibla as a backdrop before resuming our climb up the stairs.
Ragusa Ibla from the balcony near the Church of St Mary of the stairs
The better half poses with the pretty town framed by a well positioned photo point
A perfect place for the better half to do her trademark take off with Ragusa Ibla in the background
The stairs leading up to Ragusa Superiore
Happy to be at such a pretty place on a perfect sunny day
Continuing our climb up to Ragusa Superiore – the bell tower of the Church of St Mary of the Stairs in the background
The better half poses with the church bell tower and Ragusa Ibla in the background
A pedestrian underpass on the stairs frames the hill town perfectly
Finally we reached the end of the stairs and reached the steeply upward sloping Corso Italia – the Main Street of Ragusa Superiore. We immediately saw the difference between the 2 towns. The townsfolk had learnt from the earthquake and built the newer city with wide streets with a proper grid pattern. We were strolling up the Main Street when we came to a building called Palazzo Bertini which had balconies with grotesque looking masks decorating it.
The Palazzo Bertini with it’s grotesque masks decorating the balconies
Another mask at the Palazzo Bertini – Sicilians have a strange sense of decorations
The next square had buildings opposite to each other that were polar opposites – one a typical communist / fascist style building all militaristic made from stone and the other with arches and pillars mimicking the baroque style. The first was the post office made in the Mussolini era complete with a monument to postal workers who lost their lives in the wars serving the country and the building opposite was the town hall of Ragusa flying flags of Sicily, Italy and the European Union. The slope you see in the streets isn’t my poor photography – It’s the actual steep incline that Corso Italia has till it reaches the Cathedral square.
Graffiti in front of the fascist era Post office of Ragusa
The stark appearance of the post office of Ragusa – Typical of Mussolini era buildings
The town hall of Ragusa and the sloping Corso Italia leading upto the Cathedral square
Monument to Postal service workers who lost their life in the wars
We walked up the Corso Italia till we came to the building that dominates all of Ragusa Superiore – The Cathedral of San Giovanni Battista / St John the Baptist. Again we could see the safeguards taken after the Cathedral in Ragusa Ibla was flattened by the earthquake in 1693. Two squares one above the other, short and squat bell tower, fortified thick walls with massive columns. No chances taken!
The fortress like Cathedral of San Giovanni Battista in Ragusa Superiore
The facade of the Cathedral at Ragusa Superiore – Decorated but fortified at the same time
Yet another day, yet another Cathedral – The Cathedral of San Giovanni Battista
We went inside the Cathedral which was as opulent as can be expected of any Cathedral of the Baroque style – Painted and gilded ceilings, decorated pillars and arches , Chandeliers hanging from the arches, a flamboyant altarpiece and a huge pipe organ. The had built a fortress like cathedral but they hadn’t skimped on decorating it from floor to ceiling. As always I enjoyed myself taking photos of the pleasing symmetric architecture.
The opulent interiors of the Cathedral in Ragusa Superiore
The grand pipe organ at the wall above the entrance
The dome and the arched ceilings make for some great photos
The Altar dedicated to St John the Baptist
Happy us after visiting the Cathedral at Ragusa Superiore
A beautifully painted and sculpted statue of St Mary with Angels at the base
We were about to walk out when we saw a sign that was for the Tower climb. We are suckers for such things and once we saw the sign I had to find out where the tickets were sold. I used my broken Italian to ask the cleaning staff of the Cathedral who pointed me to a back room. Soon a staff member came with us and sold us the 2 euro tickets for the tower climb and opened the locked door of the tower for us.
We were apparently the first ones to ask for the Tower climb tickets that day. We were alone up in the tower for the duration of our visit and I certainly wasn’t complaining. Most of these tower climbs are worth it because of the beautiful architecture around. Here in Ragusa Superiore we could see why the town was rebuilt here it was the highest hill around and you could see much beyond Ragusa Ibla in that direction which was almost hidden in the valley.
View from the Bell tower of the Cathedral at Ragusa Superiore towards Ragusa Ibla almost hidden in the valley
View from the bell tower over the Cathedral itself and the town of Ragusa Superiore all around
You can see how thick even the outer walls of the balcony are – Earthquake proofing
Happy us after yet another tower climb
Getting my photo clicked by the better half with Ragusa Superiore in the background
Even the huge bell of the bell tower was supported by a huge metal beam and bracket. We started our descent just before it started ringing at the hour and saved ourselves a earache.
The huge bell at the bell tower of the Cathedral of Ragusa Superiore
Descending the stairs of the bell tower
With our Cathedral visit complete we stepped out and moved on and immediately stopped outside the Cathedral at a beautifully sculpted monument – The was dedicated to the town people who had lost their lives in the First World War. It’s always curious to note that there are hardly any monuments to people who died in WW II where Mussolini was aligned with Hitler and the Nazis. Everyone wants to forget the bleakest part of their history!
Monument to the fallen soldiers in WW I from the town
We then moved on to see the three parallel bridges in Ragusa Superiore that I wanted to see. These bridges were built 19th century onwards when the town outgrew the hill it was based on and extended to the neighbouring hill. These three bridges were built to connect that newer part of town to the “Old” town centre. We crossed over the bridge named after Pope John the XXII and came to the view point where you could see the two other bridges connecting the two parts of town.
The view from the Pope John the XXII Bridge to the two other parallel bridges
I wanted to cross across from the central bridge called the Ponte del Capucini which was the oldest of the 3 and a UNESCO heritage structure. While I was navigating to the older bridge we accidentally came across a square and a Church which was named the Piazza Capucini and the Church of St Francis of Assisi. We saw that it was open and gladly stepped inside. We came to know later that this square had been cordoned off for years for resurfacing and just reopened some time ago. We did our usual church routine and sat in the pews for a few minutes before resuming our walk towards the old bridge.
The 19th century Church of St Francis of Assisi
The restored interiors of the Church of St Francis
The Piazza Cappuccini with a statue of St Francis at the centre and the Church at the end
After visiting the Church of St Francis
We reached the old Capuchin bridge which was now pedestrian only and gave great views of the more modern vehicular bridges on either side and the valley below which had been converted into a park.
Ponte Papa Giovanni XXII which we had crossed over initially
The newest Ponte Nuovo on the other side of the Ponte Vecchio / Ponte del Capucini
On the Ponte dei Capucini the oldest bridge joining the 2 hilltops that Ragusa Superiore is made of
The plaque which gave the bridge a new name and inducted into UNESCO structures
We crossed back into the Town centre and soon reached the Cathedral square again. Now the cafes were open and in full swing. We saw that there was a Church right opposite the Cathedral that had been closed when we visited the Cathedral earlier. It was the Chiesa della Badia which was now open. So we did what we always do and stepped inside. As in most churches it was pretty but empty. Not as extravagant as the Cathedral but had the baroque flourishes here and there. We did our Church routine and stepped out and started our descent to our B&B.
The Cathedral square of Ragusa Superiore
The Chiesa della Badia opposite the Cathedral – note the steep incline of the Corso Italia
The pretty but subdued (comparatively) interiors of the Chiesa della Badia
We came down to the level of the Church of St Mary of the Steps and we were in luck! The oldest Church of Ragusa was now open. We stepped inside to see the old church which has a 15th century delicate terracotta relief showing the Dormition of the Virgin – not a scene very commonly depicted in Churches. As we were in the church the restoration of the old painted murals was going on and we silently observed for a few minutes before saying goodbye to St Mary of the steps and praying that the steps don’t damage our knees for good. But our steps for the day were still not over!
Back at the Balcony of St Mary of the Steps
The Altar at the Church of St Mary of the Steps
15th century Terracotta relief showing the Dormition of the Virgin
The delicately carved arches of the church and the painted murals being restored
Praying to the St Mary of the Steps to prevent permanent damage to our knees!
Happy us after visiting the oldest church in Ragusa
Can’t resist another photo of this picture postcard view of Ragusa Ibla
All that walking and climbing had made us crave Arancini’s and Granitas for some reason and we decided to go directly to the most famous places that served both these dishes in Ragusa Ibla. So up that hill we went again till we reached the Ibleo Gardens where a small place called Cantunera Ibleo served huge, piping hot and delicious Arancinis.
The better half clicks my photo at my favourite spot in Ragusa Ibla
We went in and ordered and went and sat at one of the outdoor tables. Soon our piping hot Arancinis arrived – with the better half’s favourite Norma stuffing & a potato, speck and provolone cheese stuffing for me. The reputation was justified and the Arancini’s were superb and we didn’t regret having walked all the way across town for them.
Piping hot and huge Arancinis ar the Cantunera Ibleo
We then went to the only structure we had managed to miss on our previous walk through Ragusa Ibla. The 13th century doorway to a Gothic Church that stood here before the earthquake flattened it leaving only this doorway standing – The Portale San Giorgio. It is the oldest surviving architecture in Ragusa Ibla and we had managed to miss it!
The 13th century Portale San Giorgio – the oldest architectural structure surviving in Ragusa Ibla
With the Portale San Giorgio
After enjoying the Arancini we went to the Gelati Divini back on the Duomo square to satisfy our craving for Granitas. Usually we would have had a Gelato but when you are in Sicily you can’t miss eating Granitas when the opportunity presents itself. We ordered a strawberry granita for the better half and a coffee one for myself. It’s impossible to get a bad granita in Sicily and this was great too. We enjoyed our cold granitas before returning to the B & B Terra del Sole where I enjoyed a good local beer that I had bought at the supermarket on the way back.
Enjoying our Granitas at the Gelati Divini
A funny sign on a local residence in Ragusa Ibla
Ragusa Ibla didn’t have as many cats as Ortigia but we found these two lounging on an air conditioner
Back at our beautiful room at the B &B Terra del Sole
Enjoying a cold local beer at the best room of the trip
We would then take a nice late afternoon siesta before stepping out again after dark to go again to our favourite spot La Bettola for dinner. We had enjoyed the dinner there the previous evening so much that we decided to go there again. We ordered the Eggplant Parmigiana this time which is another Sicilian specialty (It was excellent!) in addition to the potato balls with fondue that the better half had enjoyed. I ordered the highly recommended Chicken stew which was excellent. Our decision to repeat the restaurant was justified!
Setting out again through the shortcut to go for dinner
Eggplant Parmigiana – crispy, gooey, cheesy & excellent
The better half decides to have the potato balls with cheese fondue again
I enjoy the delicious Chicken stew at the trattoria La Bettola
Enjoying our dinner at the trattoria La Bettola
We walked back and Ragusa Ibla was magically lit up as usual. I have already described the spots in my previous post so I’m just posting the photos here.
The beautifully lit up Duomo of San Giorgio
The wrought iron gates of the Cathedral provide an excellent Silhouette with the lit up cathedral behind
Via Capitano Bocchieri – beautiful as always !
The beautifully lit up streets of Ragusa Ibla as we walk back to the B &B
Back at the highly recommended B&B Terra del Sole
We sat in the terrace for an hour enjoying the lit up view with the moon high up in the sky. I made myself a coffee to end a great day in the prettiest town in Sicily.
Views from our terrace room at the B&B Terra del Sole
Using the 300mm to take photos of the moon as it gets clear of the clouds
The 300mm captures the Cathedral dome lit up
A great way to end the day in Ragusa
The next day which was our last full day in Ragusa we had planned a day trip to the nearby hill town of Modica which was famous for both it’s architecture its typical chocolates.
But that is the story for another post, some other time, some other day. My penchant for writing long rambling posts continues.
Till next time,
Ciao!
yogictravel 
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