Ragusa Superiore

the southernmost capital of Italy

Last Updated: August 19, 2022

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Ragusa Superiore

If you are in Ragusa, know that you are in the southernmost capital of Italy. A city with a privileged position and baroque charm. Ragusa is in fact, with Caltagirone, Militello, Catania, Modica, Noto, Palazzolo Acreide and Scicli, among the baroque cities of the Val di Noto that have been declared a “World Heritage Site” by UNESCO.

brief history

Having become a province in 1926, Ragusa is spread over three hills, at the foot of the Iblei, about six hundred meters above sea level. It is called the “city of bridges” due to the presence of three particular structures, that is, three bridges that cross the valley of Santa Domenica and which join the eighteenth-century Ragusa to the twentieth-century one.
The central one is the Ponte Vecchio , open only to pedestrian traffic.
In 1693 a devastating earthquake razed the city to the ground. The reconstruction, which took place in the 18th century, divided Ragusa into two large districts.
For this reason, today we find Ragusa Superiore on one side, nestled on the Patro hill, and on the other Ragusa Ibla , built on the ruins of the ancient city. The latter was rebuilt following the canons of the ancient medieval structure.
In Ragusa Superiore you can visit the archaeological museum, inaugurated in the 1960s. It is located on the first floor of the Palazzo Mediterraneo and in the five sections into which it is divided it illustrates the archeology and ancient history of the Ragusa provincial territory, from the Neolithic to late antiquity.
Ragusa Superiore is connected with Ragusa Ibla by a characteristic staircase, with over three hundred steps, known as Salita del Commendatore . Along this route, between ramps, buttresses and picturesque balconies, the churches of Santa Maria delle Scale and Purgatorio cross.