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

Some prestigious works

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

The colours of the cathedral

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

One city, two sites

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The two churches

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

An eagle-shaped city

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A colourful floor

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

The disastrous earthquake

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Many owners, one palace

A prominent church

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A half-Baroque church

Some masterpieces

A hall for the feasts

Two illustrious patron saints

The city of museums

A majestic and luminous church

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

A city in colour

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A new site for a new city

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Baroque town by the sea

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The church of Carmine

Discovering the mother church

A triumph of colour

One city, three sites

Feasting in Palazzolo

A talking palace

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Wonderful quick decorations

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Feast days

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A miniature city

From International Gothic to present day

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

New roads for Catania

Searching for colour

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

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Prominent façade

A museum to save a tradition

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

The wall comes to life

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A new site for a new church

The interior and its masterpieces

Between white and black

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Norman apses

The Burgos crucifix

The internal colours

The theatre of taste

A small room with a golden entrance

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Staircase of Angels

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A symbol for the town

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

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A feast only for Scicli

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town