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

The two churches

The wall comes to life

The disastrous earthquake

A miniature city

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

One city, three sites

A colourful floor

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Wonderful quick decorations

The internal colours

Prominent façade

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Some prestigious works

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The Staircase of Angels

Discovering the mother church

Modica, a city with ancient origins

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Connections with other UNESCO sites

New roads for Catania

Feast days

A new site for a new city

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

A museum to save a tradition

The colours of the cathedral

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Feasting in Palazzolo

The interior and its masterpieces

A triumph of colour

Searching for colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Some masterpieces

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Burgos crucifix

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Maiolica of the staircase

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

Two illustrious patron saints

The church of Carmine

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

Between white and black

From International Gothic to present day

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A new site for a new church

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The chocolate of Modica

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A prominent church

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

One city, two sites

The theatre of taste

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

A talking palace

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

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

An eagle-shaped city

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Norman apses

The Baroque town by the sea

A long reconstruction

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A feast only for Scicli

A hall for the feasts

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A symbol for the town

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A small room with a golden entrance

A city in colour

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

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The city of museums

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Many owners, one palace

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

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

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras