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 Mother Church of San Nicolò and of the Santissimo Salvatore

The church of Carmine

A new site for a new city

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Some prestigious works

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Many owners, one palace

A miniature city

Discovering the mother church

A prominent church

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A city in colour

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

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Maiolica of the staircase

A talking palace

A small room with a golden entrance

The disastrous earthquake

The wall comes to life

A half-Baroque church

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The chocolate of Modica

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The internal colours

Feast days

A symbol for the town

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The Burgos crucifix

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Between white and black

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A long reconstruction

A feast only for Scicli

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

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

A new site for a new church

Two illustrious patron saints

The interior and its masterpieces

The theatre of taste

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

Searching for colour

Norman apses

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

One city, three sites

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

New roads for Catania

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A triumph of colour

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Prominent façade

The city of museums

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The colours of the cathedral

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Some masterpieces

A museum to save a tradition

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Modica, a city with ancient origins

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

From International Gothic to present day

One city, two sites

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The two churches

A colourful floor

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

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

Wonderful quick decorations

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A majestic and luminous church

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

An eagle-shaped city

The Baroque town by the sea

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto