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

A colourful floor

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The chocolate of Modica

A long reconstruction

The disastrous earthquake

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

Feast days

A new site for a new city

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A city in colour

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The colours of the cathedral

A new site for a new church

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A majestic and luminous church

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

New roads for Catania

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

One city, three sites

Many owners, one palace

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Burgos crucifix

Prominent façade

The church of Carmine

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A hall for the feasts

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

The Baroque town by the sea

A miniature city

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A small room with a golden entrance

The theatre of taste

The Maiolica of the staircase

Some prestigious works

The two churches

A triumph of colour

The Staircase of Angels

The interior and its masterpieces

A half-Baroque church

A symbol for the town

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

An eagle-shaped city

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Some masterpieces

The internal colours

The city of museums

One city, two sites

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

A talking palace

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

Norman apses

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A museum to save a tradition

A feast only for Scicli

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

A square as the heart of the city

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Two illustrious patron saints

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A Nobel Prize in Modica

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

Between white and black

A prominent church

Discovering the mother church

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

From International Gothic to present day

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Searching for colour

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

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The wall comes to life

The façade used as a puppet theatre