Modica

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

hearing
A small monumental organ

Organo santa maria del carmeloSongs and notes accompany the celebrations as they did centuries ago.
The organ is made of wood, small in size, and placed above the entrance. Made in the second half of the 18th century, it is one of the few still working.
The music of those who still know how to play the instrument enchants and accompanies the worshippers as they experience the moment of prayer more intensely, just like in the past.

touch
Watch what you paint on

Different materials, different techniques!
In order to paint on a canvas, panel or wall, an artist must master every technique. Painting on canvas means using a soft media with a fairly smooth surface.
Panels, like the one of St. Albert, are hard, made of wood and very irregular, and can have higher and lower sections. Finally, in order to fresco a wall, an artist must lay out an even base to achieve a smooth surface on which to place the colour.
For any painting to be successful, an artist must, therefore, have excellent knowledge of the technique and materials.

sight
A beautiful rose window

The church of Carmine is an example of medieval architecture where the central rose window is still intact.
The only one of its kind, it has a very unusual decoration.
Instead of the usual floral elements, the stonemason created mini-columns surmounted by small capitals, each one different from the other and ready to converge in the centre.
It is a wonderful piece of craftsmanship that demonstrates the skill of its unknown artist.

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

The Burgos crucifix

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The city of museums

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

An eagle-shaped city

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Two illustrious patron saints

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Between white and black

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A new site for a new church

Searching for colour

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The theatre of taste

Feast days

The Staircase of Angels

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

A square as the heart of the city

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

One city, two sites

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Some prestigious works

A half-Baroque church

The wall comes to life

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

From International Gothic to present day

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

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Some masterpieces

New roads for Catania

Norman apses

The chocolate of Modica

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

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

A majestic and luminous church

A long reconstruction

A colourful floor

The internal colours

One city, three sites

The colours of the cathedral

A city in colour

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

Prominent façade

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A feast only for Scicli

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Discovering the mother church

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A symbol for the town

A talking palace

Many owners, one palace

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

A new site for a new city

The church of Carmine

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Wonderful quick decorations

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A triumph of colour

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A hall for the feasts

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

A prominent church

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A miniature city

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The interior and its masterpieces

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A museum to save a tradition

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The two churches

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano