GAGLIARDI, Rosario
(b. ca. 1682, Siracusa, d. 1762, Noto)

Exterior view

1744
Photo
Duomo di San Giorgio, Ragusa

Artists from the mainland supplied to a large extent sixteenth-century art and architecture in Sicily. This situation changed in the course of the seventeenth century, and for more than 150 years most major building operations in cities were carried out by Sicilians. The eastern part of the island was devastated by the earthquake of 1693, and after the earthquake a great reconstruction period was started. Magnificent structures arose even in small towns such as Modica, Ragusa, Noto, and Grammichele.

The Church of San Giorgio in Ragusa is a typical example of the well known Sicilian Baroque. Along with San Giovanni, San Giorgio is one of the patron saints of Ragusa Ibla, and the devotion to this saint was brought here during the Norman period (1091-1194). This church was almost destroyed by the 1693 earthquake and so Rosario Gagliardi redesigned and rebuilt on the ruins of the original.