Renovation and Construction in Ragusa

Ragusa is really two towns on two ridges. Ibla, the older one, was rebuilt on its medieval street plan, so houses are tight, stacked up the slope and reached by lanes and long flights of steps. Ragusa Superiore, laid out after the earthquake on a regular grid, has larger palazzi and, further out, twentieth century apartment blocks. Across both, walls are in the honey coloured local limestone, with carved balconies, corbels and cornices, and you will often find pietra pece, the dark asphalt bearing stone quarried around Ragusa, in steps, paving and details.

Each material asks for its own care. The limestone takes lime mortars and gentle cleaning, while pietra pece, denser and darker, behaves differently, so damaged pieces are repaired or replaced like for like rather than patched with cement. On the plateau, masserie are built around a courtyard, with stables, haylofts and tiled roofs over thick walls, set inside the grid of muretti a secco that defines this landscape. Those that have stood empty for years usually need roof timbers, drainage and foundations dealt with first.

Whether you are buying in Ibla or already own a masseria, we start on site. We can help you find the right property and then survey it: the stone and mortar, the condition of vaults and timber roofs, how the neighbouring walls are behaving, damp coming from the slope behind, and whether past works match the cadastral and planning records. Where carved balconies or corbels are cracked, the survey also says whether they can be pinned and repaired or need remaking. Our architects turn that into a design and a detailed quote, and file every permit, from the CILA to the Soprintendenza and Genio Civile submissions.

On site a single project manager coordinates muratori, stonemasons, electricians, plumbers and finishing trades, and sources materials locally where possible, from limestone to pietra pece. New impianti are routed so they do not scar vaults or carved stone, and interior design turns a vertical Ibla house, with rooms on several levels, into a home that flows. Owners who live abroad follow progress through weekly photo and video updates and video calls in English or Italian, right up to the turnkey handover.