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

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The wall comes to life

A feast only for Scicli

A long reconstruction

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A talking palace

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

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

Many owners, one palace

The theatre of taste

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

The interior and its masterpieces

The internal colours

The city of museums

One city, three sites

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Feasting in Palazzolo

New roads for Catania

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The Baroque town by the sea

St. Sebastian, so much work!

A hall for the feasts

A city in colour

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

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

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

A prominent church

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

Some masterpieces

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Norman apses

A triumph of colour

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

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

Feast days

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Connections with other UNESCO sites

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

The Burgos crucifix

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The chocolate of Modica

The church of Carmine

A symbol for the town

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

An eagle-shaped city

The disastrous earthquake

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The two churches

Discovering the mother church

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

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

A miniature city

One city, two sites

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The colours of the cathedral

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

Two illustrious patron saints

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A colourful floor

Between white and black

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A new site for a new city

A new site for a new church

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

From International Gothic to present day

A square as the heart of the city

A majestic and luminous church

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

The Staircase of Angels

Some prestigious works

A half-Baroque church

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

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

Searching for colour

Prominent façade

A museum to save a tradition

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A small room with a golden entrance

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The Maiolica of the staircase

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Wonderful quick decorations