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

From International Gothic to present day

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Two illustrious patron saints

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Discovering the mother church

Feasting in Palazzolo

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A triumph of colour

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The disastrous earthquake

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A long reconstruction

A square as the heart of the city

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Maiolica of the staircase

A new site for a new church

An eagle-shaped city

A talking palace

Wonderful quick decorations

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

The colours of the cathedral

The Baroque town by the sea

The façade used as a puppet theatre

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Norman apses

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A new site for a new city

Feast days

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A hall for the feasts

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The internal colours

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

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

One city, three sites

Some prestigious works

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The church of Carmine

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Many owners, one palace

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

Between white and black

The interior and its masterpieces

Searching for colour

A museum to save a tradition

A miniature city

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A prominent church

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The wall comes to life

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A half-Baroque church

A majestic and luminous church

One city, two sites

A symbol for the town

The city of museums

A colourful floor

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A city in colour

The two churches

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Some masterpieces

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

New roads for Catania

Prominent façade

A feast only for Scicli

A small room with a golden entrance

The theatre of taste