Modica

The chocolate of Modica

A visit to Modica means a visit to its churches, walks along Via Umberto and tasting chocolate . Cioccolato di ModicaCocoa has very ancient and not very Sicilian origins. The first people to work the seeds were the Aztecs in distant Central America. It was later in the 16th century that the Spaniards brought the tasty seeds to the County of Modica . What makes Modica’s chocolate unique is its special cold processing, which gives it a grainy and irregular appearance. The first flavours to be added were vanilla and cinnamon, and over the centuries new ones were experimented with. Over the years the techniques were changed and refined, but the master chocolatiers of Modica did not want to modify the original recipe or process in any way.
This means that we can still taste the ancient flavours of an ancient tradition today. In 2003 the city’s twenty producers formed the Modica Chocolate Consortium in the aim of protecting and defining the processing and production techniques.

The Burgos crucifix

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Limestone, the colour of harmony

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

An eagle-shaped city

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Norman apses

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The church of Carmine

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

Many owners, one palace

The Maiolica of the staircase

A city in colour

Two illustrious patron saints

The city of museums

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A miniature city

One city, two sites

A colourful floor

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A prominent church

The theatre of taste

The two churches

Prominent façade

The façade used as a puppet theatre

From International Gothic to present day

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

One city, three sites

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

New roads for Catania

A triumph of colour

The wall comes to life

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Feasting in Palazzolo

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

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

Some masterpieces

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A symbol for the town

A museum to save a tradition

The colours of the cathedral

The interior and its masterpieces

Some prestigious works

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Searching for colour

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A square as the heart of the city

The Baroque town by the sea

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Between white and black

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A small room with a golden entrance

A majestic and luminous church

Feast days

A hall for the feasts

The internal colours

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A new site for a new city

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

A new site for a new church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The disastrous earthquake

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A talking palace

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The Staircase of Angels

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church