Ragusa, my hometown in Sicily and a world heritage site by U.N.E.S.C.O

Article courtesy of Giovanna Bellia La Marca.

Ragusa, my hometown in Sicily, is a lovely city built on twin mountain peaks joined by three beautiful bridges which span the gorge between the two mountains. The highest point in the city is 1, 800 feet above sea level. The ancient part of the city, Ragusa Ibla, is built on a lower mountain at the foot of the other two. Ragusa and seven other towns near it, were named World Heritage Sites by U.N.E.S.C.O, in the year 2000. They were chosen for this distinction because this area of Sicily was destroyed by a devastating earthquake in 1693, and the towns were not only rebuilt in record time, but using “modern” techniques of urban planning.

The reconstruction took only fifty years, and the streets of the present city of Ragusa form a grid with the main North South streets parallel to each other, and the East West streets which includes the elegant shopping street Via Roma perpendicular to the others. This, of course, was a novel approach in the seventeenth century. Ragusa Ibla, on the other hand, was rebuilt using the original city plan in which the streets follow the contour of the land. The cathedral of Ragusa Ibla, however, which was destroyed except for the beautiful medieval portal which stands to this day, and which has become a symbol of the city, was built in a new location. The new Cattedrale di San Giorgio was built high at the end of the Piazza atop a very imposing staircase, in the then-contemporary Baroque style.

Ragusa, a World Heritage Site by U.N.E.S.C.O

The town of Noto which was also completely destroyed in 1693 was reconstructed in an entirely new location. The newcity, now closer to the sea, replaced the hilltop town, and like Ragusa was rebuilt using a grid of parallel streets. Noto is a lovely Baroque town which was visited in great numbers before the Pandemic, and we hope that it will again reopen to tourists. Sicilian Baroque is a more linear and elegant style compared to the more ornate Baroque of Northern Italy.

On one trip while visiting with my cousin Pippo La Terra, a fine taylor, at his Sartoria in Via Sant’Anna, Ragusa, we met one of his friends who had stopped by to exchange greetings. After we were introduced to Vincenzo Distefano, he told us that he had something for us to take back to America, and the next day he gave us a beautiful framed photo of an olive tree which had actually withstood the earthquake, and at over 400 years of age is a most imposing sight. Proud of his historic olive tree, Mr. Distefano had commissioned the portrait which was done by a professional photographer. The following day Signor Distefano left a bottle of his own cold-pressed olive oil which had been made with the olives harvested from his special tree.

Back in the United States, our family feasted on this delicious gift which was carried with utmost care in our hand luggage when it was still possible to do so! We sampled the olive oil drizzled on the salad and in a dish with warm out of the oven bread dipped into it. The fragrance and great taste of the special oil brought to our family across the ocean the taste and scent of Sicily, a place which although far away in miles, remains ever close to our hearts.

Giovanna Bellia La Marca is the author of Sicilian Feasts, a book which celebrates the history, culture, cuisine, and language of Sicily.

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Sicilian Food Culture