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 senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A prominent church

The church of Carmine

A miniature city

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Feasting in Palazzolo

A museum to save a tradition

A long reconstruction

The Staircase of Angels

The city of museums

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

A new site for a new church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

One city, two sites

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

Searching for colour

The interior and its masterpieces

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

An eagle-shaped city

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

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A majestic and luminous church

The two churches

Norman apses

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The chocolate of Modica

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

Feast days

From International Gothic to present day

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A half-Baroque church

The theatre of taste

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The wall comes to life

Between white and black

A triumph of colour

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

One city, three sites

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Baroque town by the sea

A hall for the feasts

The internal colours

Discovering the mother church

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A symbol for the town

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The disastrous earthquake

A talking palace

Wonderful quick decorations

Some prestigious works

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

Prominent façade

Some masterpieces

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Burgos crucifix

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

New roads for Catania

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A square as the heart of the city

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 Chiara

A feast only for Scicli

Two illustrious patron saints

A small room with a golden entrance

A new site for a new city

A colourful floor

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The colours of the cathedral

A city in colour

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara