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 feast only for Scicli

The wall comes to life

Norman apses

The Maiolica of the staircase

A museum to save a tradition

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

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

Some prestigious works

A prominent church

The theatre of taste

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

An eagle-shaped city

A new site for a new church

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The church of Carmine

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

A half-Baroque church

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

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A talking palace

Discovering the mother church

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A city in colour

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A colourful floor

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Many owners, one palace

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The interior and its masterpieces

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Staircase of Angels

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A symbol for the town

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

New roads for Catania

A miniature city

Searching for colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Wonderful quick decorations

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Baroque town by the sea

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

The city of museums

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A small room with a golden entrance

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A new site for a new city

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

From International Gothic to present day

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

One city, two sites

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

The Burgos crucifix

Feast days

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Between white and black

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The two churches

The colours of the cathedral

One city, three sites

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Some masterpieces

A long reconstruction

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A majestic and luminous church

Prominent façade

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Feasting in Palazzolo

The disastrous earthquake

A triumph of colour

The internal colours