St Nicholas of Bari, painting, Duomo San Giorgio
St Nicholas of Bari, oil painting on canvas, 1767, by Vito d'Anna, 1718-69, in the Duomo San Giorgio, designed by Rosario Gagliardi and built 1738-75 in Sicilian Baroque and Neoclassical style, in Ragusa Ibla, in Sicily, Italy. The saint is depicted dressed as a bishop, seated on a cloud and surrounded by putti, one of whom holds the 3 golden balls representing the 3 dowries. The town of Ragusa is split into the lower and older town of Ragusa Ibla, and the higher upper town of Ragusa Superiore, separated by the Valle dei Ponti. It is built on the site of an ancient city, inhabited by Sicels, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs and Normans. In 1693 it was devastated by an earthquake, and was rebuilt in the Baroque style. The town forms part of the Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture by Manuel Cohen
