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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Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Some masterpieces

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

A majestic and luminous church

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

The Baroque town by the sea

An eagle-shaped city

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

The two churches

The interior and its masterpieces

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Some prestigious works

Discovering the mother church

Two illustrious patron saints

The Staircase of Angels

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A museum to save a tradition

Norman apses

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Many owners, one palace

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

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

A talking palace

A long reconstruction

The wall comes to life

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Maiolica of the staircase

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The city of museums

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

From International Gothic to present day

The church of Carmine

One city, three sites

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A prominent church

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The colours of the cathedral

A new site for a new church

A feast only for Scicli

A miniature city

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Feast days

A hall for the feasts

A colourful floor

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A square as the heart of the city

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A symbol for the town

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

A half-Baroque church

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Between white and black

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

New roads for Catania

Searching for colour

Prominent façade

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

A triumph of colour

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Wonderful quick decorations

The disastrous earthquake

One city, two sites

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

The internal colours

A city in colour

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The theatre of taste

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A small room with a golden entrance

The façade used as a puppet theatre