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

A half-Baroque church

Feast days

The Baroque town by the sea

Many owners, one palace

A hall for the feasts

An eagle-shaped city

Norman apses

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A symbol for the town

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

The interior and its masterpieces

A city in colour

A small room with a golden entrance

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Between white and black

From International Gothic to present day

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

Searching for colour

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A new site for a new church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A prominent church

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

A square as the heart of the city

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

The two churches

Prominent façade

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A new site for a new city

The wall comes to life

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

Discovering the mother church

A triumph of colour

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

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Burgos crucifix

One city, two sites

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Some masterpieces

A feast only for Scicli

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Staircase of Angels

A museum to save a tradition

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Feasting in Palazzolo

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A talking palace

A majestic and luminous church

A colourful floor

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

The theatre of taste

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

New roads for Catania

Some prestigious works

A miniature city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The disastrous earthquake

The colours of the cathedral

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

A long reconstruction

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The church of Carmine

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The city of museums

Wonderful quick decorations

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

One city, three sites

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Maiolica of the staircase

The internal colours

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom