Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

hearing
The listening masks

The masks of Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso have been watching over Via Francesco Crispi for centuries and have witnessed the passage from one era to another, right to the present day. If they could tell us what they have seen and heard, they would prove how much the world has changed.
Never taking their eyes off of passers-by, the listening masks will continue, like they did in the past, to follow anyone who happens to be on Via Crispi.

sight
The dark railing

zoom La scura ringhiera
La scura ringhiera

Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso was built with a pure white stone, whose pallor is broken up from time to time by the railings of the elegant wrought iron balconies.
The curved, round-bottomed railings create an interesting contrast that adds vitality to the façade.
The white stone and the protruding black railings together create a special effect caused by the use of two very different colours.

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

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The disastrous earthquake

Searching for colour

A new site for a new church

A small room with a golden entrance

A prominent church

Some prestigious works

A hall for the feasts

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Wonderful quick decorations

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

One city, two sites

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The theatre of taste

A long reconstruction

The Staircase of Angels

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 church of Carmine

Feast days

The façade used as a puppet theatre

An eagle-shaped city

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Feasting in Palazzolo

A colourful floor

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

From International Gothic to present day

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

The chocolate of Modica

The internal colours

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Norman apses

A miniature city

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A talking palace

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

One city, three sites

Many owners, one palace

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

The city of museums

St. Sebastian, so much work!

New roads for Catania

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Between white and black

Two illustrious patron saints

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Baroque town by the sea

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Discovering the mother church

The interior and its masterpieces

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

A new site for a new city

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

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

The Burgos crucifix

A city in colour

A triumph of colour

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A half-Baroque church

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A feast only for Scicli

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The Maiolica of the staircase

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A museum to save a tradition

Some masterpieces

A symbol for the town

Prominent façade

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The wall comes to life

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The two churches

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The colours of the cathedral