RAGUSA IBLA
RAGUSA IBLA
a village rich
of history and tradition
Ragusa Ibla, located on the slopes of Monti Iblei, is a village that will surprise you with its beauty. The origins of this UNESCO site are deep rooted in history: it was founded by Sicels in the Prehistoric Age and then dominated by Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, and also by Normans during the Middle Ages. In 1500 the town lived a period of glory during which the middle-class owners bought nobility titles and created a new noble class. But later, a terrible catastrophe struck the town: on 11 January 1693 the earth shook disastrously and destroyed everything.
When its inhabitants decided to rebuild the city, most of the aristocrats preferred to reconstruct it in the same area, while the farmers and the new noble class chose to raise the new buildings in the quarter Patro, thus establishing the first settlement of Ragusa Nuova with large and straight streets.
Nowadays, Ragusa Ibla bears witness to that reconstruction – where the beauty of artwork helped people to overcome their past fear -, but it is also an example of Greek archaeology, ancient and living rural traditions, traditional food and folklore, as well as cultural, artistic and sport liveliness.
It is a place with a lot to tell and give to its visitors.