This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Markussep (talk | contribs) at 21:46, 1 February 2005 (moved information on the city Ragusa to Ragusa, Italy). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 21:46, 1 February 2005 by Markussep (talk | contribs) (moved information on the city Ragusa to Ragusa, Italy)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Ragusa (It. Provincia di Ragusa) is a province of Sicily, the large mountainous volcanic island and autonomous region off the most extreme south-west point of Italy. Ragusa is in the south-east of the island.
The province has a land area of 1,614 square kilometres. The population is 295,264 (2001, source: Italian institute of statistics Istat, see this link).
Tourism seems to have now replaced the fishing and farming industries as the principal source of employment.
The province of Ragusa has twelve communes, these are Acate, Chiaramonte Gulfi, Comiso, Giarratana, Ispica, Modica, Monterosso Almo, Pozzallo, Ragusa, Santa Croce Camerina, Scicli, Vittoria.
From Scoglitti to Pozzallo, the Ragusan coastline, is approximately 50 kilometres long, along the Ragusan coast are many fishing villages such as Casuzze, Kaukana, and Marina di Modica. The skyline of Ragusa is frequently punctuated by the towers, domes and cupolas of the many exquisite churches for which the province is famed. The area is mostly unspoilt, during the 19th century and early 20th century there was large migration from Ragusa to the more prosperous areas of Italy and abroad.
The historical city Ragusa is the province's capital.
At Acate is the Castle of the Prince of Biscari constructed originally in 1494, it is a commanding feature of the Town Square . The construction of the castle was ordered by Baron Guglielmo Raimondo, its golden coloured stonework has been modified many times during is long history, it now appears more as an 18th century palazzo than a castle, although some crenelations and towers remain.
Ragusa has changed dramatically over the last 20 years largely due to tourism, however, in many places it remains untouched by the last two centuries, and has escaped unscathed from the excesses of discovery by the travelling world. In places one can still live there and feel oneself to be in the 18th century.