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 cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Wonderful quick decorations

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The wall comes to life

An eagle-shaped city

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A miniature city

A small room with a golden entrance

A triumph of colour

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Some masterpieces

A talking palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Limestone, the colour of harmony

New roads for Catania

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A hall for the feasts

Some prestigious works

A museum to save a tradition

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A city in colour

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

A majestic and luminous church

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Between white and black

Two illustrious patron saints

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The Burgos crucifix

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Feast days

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Norman apses

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The two churches

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

One city, three sites

Prominent façade

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The internal colours

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A symbol for the town

A new site for a new church

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

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

Discovering the mother church

The theatre of taste

The Baroque town by the sea

The colours of the cathedral

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A feast only for Scicli

A half-Baroque church

A square as the heart of the city

Feasting in Palazzolo

The city of museums

Many owners, one palace

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

From International Gothic to present day

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

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

Searching for colour

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

A prominent church

A colourful floor

The chocolate of Modica

A long reconstruction

The disastrous earthquake

The church of Carmine

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

One city, two sites

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe