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 museum to save a tradition

Prominent façade

Discovering the mother church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

One city, three sites

Feasting in Palazzolo

An eagle-shaped city

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The church of Carmine

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Two illustrious patron saints

Norman apses

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The internal colours

A symbol for the town

The theatre of taste

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

Many owners, one palace

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Feast days

A miniature city

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A talking palace

New roads for Catania

A small room with a golden entrance

Searching for colour

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

The wall comes to life

A feast only for Scicli

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The city of museums

Between white and black

A hall for the feasts

A prominent church

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The chocolate of Modica

A triumph of colour

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A long reconstruction

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Wonderful quick decorations

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A majestic and luminous church

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Some masterpieces

One city, two sites

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Baroque town by the sea

The Maiolica of the staircase

From International Gothic to present day

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A city in colour

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

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

The two churches

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The interior and its masterpieces

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Staircase of Angels

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A colourful floor

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Burgos crucifix

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The disastrous earthquake

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

Some prestigious works

A square as the heart of the city

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A new site for a new church

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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