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 Burgos crucifix

The Staircase of Angels

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Some masterpieces

One city, three sites

A city in colour

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The church of Carmine

The disastrous earthquake

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

The theatre of taste

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Searching for colour

A square as the heart of the city

The two churches

Norman apses

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Many owners, one palace

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Prominent façade

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A symbol for the town

One city, two sites

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

From International Gothic to present day

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A new site for a new city

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A half-Baroque church

Discovering the mother church

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

The wall comes to life

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Some prestigious works

A prominent church

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

A colourful floor

The chocolate of Modica

A small room with a golden entrance

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

The internal colours

A talking palace

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The city of museums

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A majestic and luminous church

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

Feast days

Between white and black

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Two illustrious patron saints

Feasting in Palazzolo

The Maiolica of the staircase

A triumph of colour

New roads for Catania

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

A long reconstruction

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A hall for the feasts

The colours of the cathedral

A miniature city

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

An eagle-shaped city

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

The Baroque town by the sea

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

A new site for a new church

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A museum to save a tradition

The interior and its masterpieces

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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