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 miniature city

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The wall comes to life

The interior and its masterpieces

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

One city, two sites

The two churches

The Maiolica of the staircase

The disastrous earthquake

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

From International Gothic to present day

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

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

Some prestigious works

Searching for colour

The theatre of taste

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

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

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A long reconstruction

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The internal colours

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Between white and black

The Baroque town by the sea

A small room with a golden entrance

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

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

The church of Carmine

A half-Baroque church

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A colourful floor

A hall for the feasts

A square as the heart of the city

A new site for a new church

Two illustrious patron saints

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A feast only for Scicli

Discovering the mother church

The colours of the cathedral

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Burgos crucifix

Wonderful quick decorations

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Norman apses

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

An eagle-shaped city

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

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A majestic and luminous church

New roads for Catania

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

A talking palace

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A prominent church

A museum to save a tradition

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Prominent façade

The chocolate of Modica

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The city of museums

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A triumph of colour

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A symbol for the town

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Some masterpieces

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

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

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

One city, three sites

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Feast days

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A new site for a new city