Modica

The chocolate of Modica

A visit to Modica means a visit to its churches, walks along Via Umberto and tasting chocolate . Cioccolato di ModicaCocoa has very ancient and not very Sicilian origins. The first people to work the seeds were the Aztecs in distant Central America. It was later in the 16th century that the Spaniards brought the tasty seeds to the County of Modica . What makes Modica’s chocolate unique is its special cold processing, which gives it a grainy and irregular appearance. The first flavours to be added were vanilla and cinnamon, and over the centuries new ones were experimented with. Over the years the techniques were changed and refined, but the master chocolatiers of Modica did not want to modify the original recipe or process in any way.
This means that we can still taste the ancient flavours of an ancient tradition today. In 2003 the city’s twenty producers formed the Modica Chocolate Consortium in the aim of protecting and defining the processing and production techniques.

A majestic and luminous church

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The church of Carmine

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Feasting in Palazzolo

One city, two sites

The façade used as a puppet theatre

One city, three sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Giuliano ai Crociferi

A hall for the feasts

A new site for a new city

The role of the religious orders in rebuilding the Val di Noto

The senses tell the story of the Badia di Sant’Agata

Prominent façade

The senses tell the Benedictine Monastery and San NicoIò l’Arena

The Burgos crucifix

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The city of museums

A feast only for Scicli

A new site for a new church

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

An eagle-shaped city

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A museum to save a tradition

The Baroque town by the sea

The wall comes to life

The Staircase of Angels

The colours of the cathedral

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Discovering the mother church

A square as the heart of the city

A half-Baroque church

From the contrast of the exterior to the internal jubilation of colours

Two illustrious patron saints

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A small room with a golden entrance

A colourful floor

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Some masterpieces

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A talking palace

Between white and black

Norman apses

The theatre of taste

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Freedom of worship and the role of the Catholic Church in the diffusion of Baroque

The internal colours

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

From International Gothic to present day

A triumph of colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Giovanni Evangelista

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Some prestigious works

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the staircase of Santa Maria del Monte

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The disastrous earthquake

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A long reconstruction

The Maiolica of the staircase

Wonderful quick decorations

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Searching for colour

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell the Mother Church of San Nicolò and of the Santissimo Salvatore

A city in colour

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The chocolate of Modica

Feast days

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell the story of the church of Santa Maria del Carmelo

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A prominent church

Church of San Giuliano (St. Julian) on Via dei Crociferi: reconstruction

The two churches

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A symbol for the town

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giovanni Battista

The interior and its masterpieces

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A miniature city

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci