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

Discovering the mother church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A majestic and luminous church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The city of museums

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The colours of the cathedral

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

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

A colourful floor

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Staircase of Angels

Norman apses

A symbol for the town

A talking palace

Many owners, one palace

Modica, a city with ancient origins

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The Baroque town by the sea

A long reconstruction

Searching for colour

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

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

The theatre of taste

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

An eagle-shaped city

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A city in colour

Between white and black

One city, three sites

The Maiolica of the staircase

A triumph of colour

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Feast days

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The chocolate of Modica

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Wonderful quick decorations

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

A new site for a new city

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

The church of Carmine

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The interior and its masterpieces

A miniature city

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

One city, two sites

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

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A prominent church

A feast only for Scicli

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

New roads for Catania

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A square as the heart of the city

From International Gothic to present day

The Burgos crucifix

The wall comes to life

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Some masterpieces

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A new site for a new church

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

A half-Baroque church

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

The two churches

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A museum to save a tradition

Some prestigious works

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Two illustrious patron saints

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Prominent façade

A hall for the feasts

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The internal colours

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours