9. Convent and Church of St. Mary of Jesus

The Convent of Santa Maria del Gesù was built by the Reformed Minors of Saint Francis in the first decades of the 17th century on an area, donated by the Campulo family, occupied by houses and a portico. They were located in the vicinity of an older rupestrian settlement, perhaps of a monastic type, consisting of several caves, of which the largest was incorporated into the convent’s workshops to create a huge cistern (Fig. a).
The convent, articulated on several levels (Fig. b), is built around a colonnaded cloister, in the centre of which is the octagonal well curb of the large cistern (Fig. c).
It is believed that the designer may have been a Franciscan friar, Friar Marcello from Palermo, who was also active in Modica in the construction of several convents, including that of St. Anne’s.
The convent, consisting of four elevations, was already complete in 1669.
Initially damaged by the earthquake of 1693 (its impact still visible today), it was then repaired and remained in use by the monks until the unification of Italy. With the suppression of the religious orders and the confiscation of property (eversive laws of 1866-1867), the convent passed into the use of the Municipality of Ragusa which, for a time, used it as a school and office. Gradual abandonment and neglect caused part of the building to collapse in 1943.
In the course of restoration and reconstruction work, a dilapidated tower from the end of the 13th century was discovered along the walls of medieval Ragusa, which was directly connected to the Saccari gate, and was incorporated into the construction of the monastery.
Severely damaged during the earthquake, it was rebuilt by the monks themselves. A coat of arms of the Franciscan Reformed Order, with a Madonna and Child in the centre, is displayed in the space between the broken tympanum of the doorway and the chancel window of this church, that was dedicated to the Virgin Mary (Fig. d).
The single-nave church (Fig. e) is characterised by the presence of stuccoes and paintings, as well as the remarkable tromp l’oeil in the apse (Fig. f).
The complex, at the end of the ongoing restoration work, will become an Archaeological Museum.