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

One city, three sites

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

A square as the heart of the city

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Many owners, one palace

A new site for a new city

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The city of museums

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

One city, two sites

A feast only for Scicli

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

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

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The two churches

Between white and black

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

A symbol for the town

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Wonderful quick decorations

Two illustrious patron saints

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

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

An eagle-shaped city

A city in colour

The Staircase of Angels

Feasting in Palazzolo

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The theatre of taste

A new site for a new church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A half-Baroque church

A talking palace

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A small room with a golden entrance

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Maiolica of the staircase

Feast days

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Burgos crucifix

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

New roads for Catania

From International Gothic to present day

The disastrous earthquake

Searching for colour

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The chocolate of Modica

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The internal colours

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

The interior and its masterpieces

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A colourful floor

Prominent façade

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

Discovering the mother church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A prominent church

A hall for the feasts

Norman apses

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The colours of the cathedral

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A museum to save a tradition

Some prestigious works

A majestic and luminous church

A miniature city

The Baroque town by the sea

The wall comes to life

A triumph of colour