The church of Sant’Agata dei Padri Cappuccini, with Pietro Novelli’s masterpiece
The Capuchin Fathers moved to this majestic building 1607, located in the Iblei gardens, which continued to be used as a monastery until the start of the 20th century when the final monks left. It is now used as a restaurant and hotel.
The church continues to be used as a place of worship and is home to one of the region’s most valuable art treasures, commissioned in 1635 by Niccolò Placido Branciforte: the tryptic by Pietro Novelli depicting the Assumption of Mary into Heaven, flanked by Saints Agatha and Catherine.
The presence of a crypt with the remains of a small ‘colatoio’ used for embalming bodies confirms that this typical Capuchin practice was also common in Ragusa.
