Church of Santa Maria del Gesù a Ragusa
The Convent and the Church of Santa Maria del Gesù were built by the Reformed Friars Minor starting in 1636, with the contribution of the city administration and the entire population.
For the construction of the complex they were used the stones of the abandoned Byzantine castle of Ragusa and those of a small adjacent quarry opened for the occasion. Due to the damage suffered as a result of the earthquakes, the works on the complex continued throughout the eighteenth century. The convent, particularly heavy on the west side, continually collapsed and so, despite the creation of internal buttresses, in the fifties the western half of the convent collapsed definitively.
The seat of the church is subject to the plan road and is accessed by means of the long staircase. The eighteenth-century façade between smooth ashlar pilasters has a portal bordered by twisted columns with composite Corinthian capitals, surmounted by the coat of arms of the conventual order. The roof is supported by a serrated cornice.
The interior, with a single nave, has seven old-fashioned altars between twin Corinthian-style semi-columns and vaults with stucco roofs bearing mostly floral motifs and winged cherubs that have been restored several times .
On the occasion of the latest restoration works, an interesting fresco by an unknown hand was discovered inside the old disused high altar, depicting a scene from the tradition of the order.
Below the church, today accessible only from the cloister floor is the crypt-oratory with a Greek cross plan that encloses the tombs of the friars.
On the back of the first right-hand confessional is the access to the ditch that hid a passage secret today walled that connected the church and the convent with the Campulo house.
The convent is a large building, spread over four levels, and lacks a wing because it collapsed. It is accessed from a small door on the side of the church on whose architrave there is an inscription in memory of the benefactor who contributed to its completion.
On the upper level of the Convent there are the cells of the friars as well as an access to the choir and the belfry; The bell tower is reached via a staircase, which also connects the floor to the cloister of the convent where there is a well. This one, which develops in depth with two levels accessible from windows, is placed at the center of geometric designs of octagonal crosses made of asphaltic stone with pavement of mixed limestone and volcanic river pebbles.
Around the cloister are the oratory and the rooms for daily work, such as the library and other services; on the first lower floor the kitchens, warehouses and canteen; on the second floor underground the access to the gardens.
