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 new site for a new city

One city, two sites

Many owners, one palace

A colourful floor

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A feast only for Scicli

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Feasting in Palazzolo

The colours of the cathedral

The city of museums

A new site for a new church

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A miniature city

Norman apses

A square as the heart of the city

The two churches

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

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

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

New roads for Catania

The Baroque town by the sea

One city, three sites

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A hall for the feasts

From International Gothic to present day

The internal colours

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Burgos crucifix

A long reconstruction

Between white and black

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Discovering the mother church

Some prestigious works

A talking palace

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The theatre of taste

Wonderful quick decorations

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

Prominent façade

An eagle-shaped city

The church of Carmine

Feast days

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

The interior and its masterpieces

A half-Baroque church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The disastrous earthquake

A majestic and luminous church

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A prominent church

The Staircase of Angels

A museum to save a tradition

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Some masterpieces

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A symbol for the town

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

A city in colour

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A triumph of colour

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Searching for colour

Two illustrious patron saints

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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