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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The theatre of taste

The Maiolica of the staircase

A square as the heart of the city

A symbol for the town

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Discovering the mother church

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A talking palace

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The church of Carmine

Feasting in Palazzolo

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A triumph of colour

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

Some prestigious works

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

The interior and its masterpieces

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

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

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

One city, two sites

New roads for Catania

The colours of the cathedral

Two illustrious patron saints

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The city of museums

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A new site for a new city

The chocolate of Modica

The two churches

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Some masterpieces

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The wall comes to life

Searching for colour

A new site for a new church

A small room with a golden entrance

A prominent church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The internal colours

A feast only for Scicli

Many owners, one palace

One city, three sites

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A hall for the feasts

The Baroque town by the sea

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A majestic and luminous church

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

Norman apses

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

From International Gothic to present day

A museum to save a tradition

Prominent façade

A half-Baroque church

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Burgos crucifix

A colourful floor

Between white and black

Feast days

Wonderful quick decorations

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The disastrous earthquake

An eagle-shaped city

A city in colour

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

A miniature city

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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