Ragusa is located at the center of the Noto Valley, on the Iblei Mountains and next to the river Irminio, natural reserve between Donnalucata and Marina di Ragusa.
The small town has a rich tradition of typical products, art and natural beauty. At the end of the 17th century, an earthquake razed to the ground the south-eastern part of Sicily, then Ragusa was rebuilt and divided into two areas: Ragusa Superiore and Ragusa Ibla, erected on the pre-existing medieval structure.
Visit Ragusa: Unesco heritage
Since 2002 Ragusa has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site, “representing the climax and the wealth of Baroque art in Europe”, due to the architecture of its buildings and the many bridges present on the upper part of the city. Ultimately, a beautiful natural reserve is able to preserve the typical plants of the Mediterranean maquis.
Ibla is seen as the old part of the town, thanks also to the presence of the Cathedral of St. George, a monument of a rare architectural design. There are more than 50 churches and noble mansions in Baroque style, rich in decoration, with capitals, columns and details manufactured in limestone.
Ragusa Ibla is visited by thousands of tourists every year. They are drawn to the small squares and narrow lanes to be explored on foot, from the skilfully designed architectures to the typical local cuisine. Inside the Ibleo Garden there is a beautiful terrace, which offers the visitor a unique view of the Iblei Mountains. However, this is not the only point from which you can admire a wonderful landscape, in fact, the structure of streets and paths, stairs and buildings offers contiguous extraordinary vantage points.
The monuments that have become part of Unesco are located between Ragusa Superiore and Ibla, among which we find the Cathedral of San Giovanni, the Church of S. Maria delle Scale, the Church of San Giuseppe, the Cathedral of San Giorgio, the bishop’s palace , the La Rocca palace and many others.
Visit Ragusa: The Ragusa Culinary Art
The lands of Ragusa stretch as far as the eye can see, and are mainly cultivated with almond trees, prickly pears, carob trees, olive trees.
Ragusan cuisine excels and here tourists are spoiled for choice between refined almond pastries, cannoli, arancini, and biancomangiare, the typical dessert included in the list of Italian food products of the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies. The “biancomangiare” dates back to medieval times and is made with a base of milk and ground almonds.
Furthermore, the Ragusan tradition finds its maximum expression in the almond nougat, in the fine wines including Cerasuolo di Vittoria, and finally, in the carob, used for sweets and typical biscuits.
Ragusan cuisine is the result of its rich territory, of the wholesome products that the land offers, and of an old tradition enhanced through contaminations of the nearby Middle Eastern civilizations. Viceré Sicily respects the ancient customs, the memory of glorious times, and always chooses raw materials of the highest quality in their production processes.
