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

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Baroque town by the sea

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A symbol for the town

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

The interior and its masterpieces

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

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

The Burgos crucifix

Two illustrious patron saints

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The two churches

A small room with a golden entrance

One city, two sites

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

Discovering the mother church

A miniature city

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

Norman apses

A talking palace

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

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

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

New roads for Catania

One city, three sites

A colourful floor

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

A new site for a new city

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The church of Carmine

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The theatre of taste

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A square as the heart of the city

A feast only for Scicli

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Modica, a city with ancient origins

A hall for the feasts

A long reconstruction

The Staircase of Angels

Prominent façade

A majestic and luminous church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Some masterpieces

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The colours of the cathedral

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A new site for a new church

A prominent church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The Maiolica of the staircase

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

From International Gothic to present day

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

The city of museums

A triumph of colour

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A city in colour

Many owners, one palace

The disastrous earthquake

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

Wonderful quick decorations

Between white and black

A museum to save a tradition

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

Some prestigious works

A half-Baroque church

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

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

Feasting in Palazzolo

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The wall comes to life

Searching for colour

Feast days

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

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

The internal colours

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church