Italy Guide
Sicily
Ragusa
RAGUSA is a town with two identities, literally split in two by the earthquake: the old town of Ragusa Ibla, on a jut of land above its valley, was flattened, and within a few years a new town, Ragusa Superiore was built on a grand planned grid, on a higher ridge to the west. Meanwhile, Ibla was rebuilt – in Baroque style – along its old medieval streetplan.
Thanks to generous European and government funding, Ibla has been painstakingly restored, and scores of B&Bs and stylish second homes now occupy its lovely limestone Baroque houses and palaces. However, with a population of just 2000 (out of a total of 70,000), and little in the way of ordinary shops or bars, Ibla is very much a museum town, virtually pedestrianized and dedicated only to tourism. Ragusa Superiore, on the other hand, is a busy and likeable provincial capital, mostly modern, but with a good slice of Baroque on the edge of the cleft between the two cities, where you may well want to spend a little time.
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