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 internal colours

Discovering the mother church

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

A square as the heart of the city

The Burgos crucifix

Limestone, the colour of harmony

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

A colourful floor

The interior and its masterpieces

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Many owners, one palace

St. Sebastian, so much work!

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

A symbol for the town

New roads for Catania

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

A miniature city

A new site for a new city

A triumph of colour

One city, two sites

The disastrous earthquake

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

The colours of the cathedral

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Feast days

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Searching for colour

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

The church of Carmine

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

The two churches

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

An eagle-shaped city

From International Gothic to present day

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A feast only for Scicli

The wall comes to life

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Some prestigious works

A prominent church

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A long reconstruction

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

Some masterpieces

Between white and black

A hall for the feasts

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The theatre of taste

A museum to save a tradition

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

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

A majestic and luminous church

A new site for a new church

The city of museums

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

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Staircase of Angels

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

A talking palace

One city, three sites

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Feasting in Palazzolo

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A half-Baroque church

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

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

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

The Maiolica of the staircase

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

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

Norman apses

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The Baroque town by the sea

Two illustrious patron saints

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Wonderful quick decorations

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Prominent façade