Santa Maria delle Scale Church
One of the oldest and most interesting churches in the city.
The current church stands on the site of an older one, large parts of which can still be seen inside, and before that there was a portico which stood where the current left-hand nave is, and under the floor there are the remains of the limestone slab pavement.
Three chapels have survived opposite the current entrance, marked by ribbed vaulting in the late Gothic style and decorated by stone carvings depicting celestial creatures, plants and animals, and monsters and fantastical creates.
The central chapel is dedicated to the Assumption of the Madonna, rebuilt in 1538 in Renaissance style and embellished with a large and colourful terracotta altar depicting the Dormition of the Mother of God.
When the church was rebuilt in the 1700s, it was rotated by 90 degrees, to face in a new direction.
Visit this church: Discesa Santa Maria. Ragusa. Maps Google
