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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

New roads for Catania

The city of museums

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A miniature city

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

One city, two sites

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

One city, three sites

Searching for colour

The interior and its masterpieces

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Between white and black

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A half-Baroque church

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Many owners, one palace

A new site for a new city

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

A small room with a golden entrance

The theatre of taste

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Feasting in Palazzolo

The church of Carmine

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

Norman apses

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A feast only for Scicli

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Burgos crucifix

A new site for a new church

A long reconstruction

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A colourful floor

Prominent façade

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

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

The internal colours

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The disastrous earthquake

The Maiolica of the staircase

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A talking palace

The chocolate of Modica

From International Gothic to present day

The Baroque town by the sea

A prominent church

Wonderful quick decorations

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

Feast days

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

A majestic and luminous church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The colours of the cathedral

The two churches

A triumph of colour

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A hall for the feasts

A symbol for the town

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Some masterpieces

A museum to save a tradition

The Staircase of Angels

Some prestigious works

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

An eagle-shaped city

The wall comes to life

A square as the heart of the city