Unlocking Doors

About

"Unlocking Doors" is an exclusive guided tour in Ragusa Ibla through the places of leisure of the late 19th century aristocratic Ragusa Ibla. The places included in the tour are: - the "Circolo di Conversazione" - the "Donnafugata Theatre" - the private garden of "Palazzo Arezzo - Bertini" These monuments, considered to be among the best attractions in Ragusa Ibla beside the baroque monuments of the UNESCO World Heritage list, have been inaccessible so far, since they are private estates. Therefore, thanks to the availability of the owners and the present members of the Circolo, the "Iblazon Association" have managed a brand new tour that opens the doors of these palaces to the visitors who want to learn more about how the members of Sicilian aristocracy lived, where they met and spent their free time together and, especially, about how they have contributed to the untouched beauty and astonishing scenario of Piazza Duomo and Corso XXV Aprile in Ragusa Ibla. The tour is led by qualified tour guides filled with genuine passion for their hometown. Through the magnificent rooms of the Circolo, the vivid splendour of the Arezzo of Donnafugata private theatre, and the charming scent of a "secret garden" hidden in the centre of the old town, they will be glad to reveal the secrets behind each site and the life of the protagonists of a glorious Ragusa Ibla, in a climate that resembles very closely the world described in "The Leopard" by G. Tomasi di Lampedusa. A pure travel in the past in the search of the true spirit of a lost Sicily. The tour guides are: - Clorinda Arezzo: B.A. in Cultural Heritage Management, M.A. student in Medieval Archaeology, Licensed Tour Guide - Damiano Bracchitta: B.A. in Classics & Archaeology, PhD student in Archaeology, Licensed Tour Guide

At a glance

• Typical visit: about 30 minutes