Modica

Many owners, one palace

foto palazzo salendo da via CalamenzanaPalazzo Tommasi Rosso is located on Corso Francesco Crispi, behind the Cathedral of San Giorgio (St. George), in the ancient district of Francavilla. It is an important testimony to the late Baroque architecture of Modica. Though the palace is named Napolino Tommasi Rosso, the family that commissioned the building was probably the Lorefice family.
In the second half of the 18th century, work began on a majestic two-storey palace with an internal courtyard and a rich, elaborate façade. The façade is symmetrical; the portal in the middle, with two windows on the sides, and three balconies with corbels on the second storey.

porzione del palazzo mascheroni mensoloni del balcone centrale del palazzo
The large portal is enclosed on the left and right by two columns, on which are carved two lion heads and from which hang two elegant cloths. The top is completed by an elegant protruding trabeation with a broken line, typical of Baroque architecture.

zoom colonna del grande portale
colonna del grande portale

The large corbels, five per balcony, are all richly decorated; the two lateral ones were embellished with plant motifs and the middle one features the classic masks of the late Sicilian Baroque palaces. The palace is an elegant building in the heart of the town that tells the story of a bygone era.
dettagli mensoloni

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

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Many owners, one palace

The façade used as a puppet theatre

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

Norman apses

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Feast days

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

New roads for Catania

The internal colours

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The wall comes to life

The colours of the cathedral

Between white and black

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A feast only for Scicli

A majestic and luminous church

The Burgos crucifix

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

From International Gothic to present day

Prominent façade

Some masterpieces

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The Maiolica of the staircase

The Baroque town by the sea

Discovering the mother church

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

An eagle-shaped city

The interior and its masterpieces

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

One city, three sites

Wonderful quick decorations

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

The Staircase of Angels

The two churches

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A miniature city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Two illustrious patron saints

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A colourful floor

A city in colour

A triumph of colour

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A new site for a new church

A new site for a new city

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

One city, two sites

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The theatre of taste

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A long reconstruction

Limestone, the colour of harmony

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A talking palace

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A square as the heart of the city

Some prestigious works

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

The chocolate of Modica

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The church of Carmine

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

The disastrous earthquake

Feasting in Palazzolo

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

Searching for colour

A prominent church

A small room with a golden entrance

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

A symbol for the town

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A half-Baroque church

The city of museums