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 Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A long reconstruction

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

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

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A city in colour

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The Baroque town by the sea

A prominent church

Norman apses

The Staircase of Angels

An eagle-shaped city

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

Between white and black

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

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

Many owners, one palace

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

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

Feast days

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Modica, a city with ancient origins

From International Gothic to present day

Some masterpieces

The city of museums

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The chocolate of Modica

The internal colours

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

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

A small room with a golden entrance

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

One city, two sites

Two illustrious patron saints

Some prestigious works

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A new site for a new city

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The interior and its masterpieces

Searching for colour

A colourful floor

A new site for a new church

The disastrous earthquake

A symbol for the town

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Wonderful quick decorations

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

The church of Carmine

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A miniature city

A triumph of colour

The two churches

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

One city, three sites

A square as the heart of the city

The theatre of taste

Prominent façade

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The colours of the cathedral

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A majestic and luminous church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A feast only for Scicli

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A half-Baroque church

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A talking palace

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

New roads for Catania

The wall comes to life

The Maiolica of the staircase

The Burgos crucifix

A hall for the feasts

A museum to save a tradition