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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

A museum to save a tradition

A triumph of colour

A hall for the feasts

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A long reconstruction

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

Searching for colour

Feasting in Palazzolo

From International Gothic to present day

A symbol for the town

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The colours of the cathedral

Prominent façade

A feast only for Scicli

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Many owners, one palace

The two churches

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The wall comes to life

A colourful floor

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Feast days

The theatre of taste

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Some prestigious works

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

The interior and its masterpieces

Some masterpieces

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

A new site for a new church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

One city, two sites

The church of Carmine

A miniature city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The disastrous earthquake

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

Discovering the mother church

The Baroque town by the sea

Limestone, the colour of harmony

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

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The Burgos crucifix

A majestic and luminous church

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A square as the heart of the city

A new site for a new city

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A prominent church

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The chocolate of Modica

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

New roads for Catania

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The city of museums

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Two illustrious patron saints

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A talking palace

One city, three sites

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The internal colours

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

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

Norman apses

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

A small room with a golden entrance

Between white and black

The Staircase of Angels

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Wonderful quick decorations

An eagle-shaped city

A city in colour