Modica

Many owners, one palace

foto palazzo salendo da via CalamenzanaPalazzo Tommasi Rosso is located on Corso Francesco Crispi, behind the Cathedral of San Giorgio (St. George), in the ancient district of Francavilla. It is an important testimony to the late Baroque architecture of Modica. Though the palace is named Napolino Tommasi Rosso, the family that commissioned the building was probably the Lorefice family.
In the second half of the 18th century, work began on a majestic two-storey palace with an internal courtyard and a rich, elaborate façade. The façade is symmetrical; the portal in the middle, with two windows on the sides, and three balconies with corbels on the second storey.

porzione del palazzo mascheroni mensoloni del balcone centrale del palazzo
The large portal is enclosed on the left and right by two columns, on which are carved two lion heads and from which hang two elegant cloths. The top is completed by an elegant protruding trabeation with a broken line, typical of Baroque architecture.

zoom colonna del grande portale
colonna del grande portale

The large corbels, five per balcony, are all richly decorated; the two lateral ones were embellished with plant motifs and the middle one features the classic masks of the late Sicilian Baroque palaces. The palace is an elegant building in the heart of the town that tells the story of a bygone era.
dettagli mensoloni

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Prominent façade

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The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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A talking palace

A symbol for the town

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

A colourful floor

Norman apses

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Wonderful quick decorations

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A miniature city

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A triumph of colour

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The interior and its masterpieces

The Burgos crucifix

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Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The internal colours

Between white and black

The church of Carmine

A museum to save a tradition

The city of museums

The theatre of taste

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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A square as the heart of the city

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Two illustrious patron saints

The Staircase of Angels

A small room with a golden entrance

The Maiolica of the staircase

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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One city, three sites

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

From International Gothic to present day

Some prestigious works

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

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Feasting in Palazzolo

An eagle-shaped city

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A hall for the feasts

The colours of the cathedral

Some masterpieces

A long reconstruction

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A majestic and luminous church

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The two churches

Feast days

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Limestone, the colour of harmony

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Searching for colour

A city in colour

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A new site for a new church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Many owners, one palace

The disastrous earthquake

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A half-Baroque church

A prominent church

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A feast only for Scicli

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

The chocolate of Modica

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)