Modica

The chocolate of Modica

A visit to Modica means a visit to its churches, walks along Via Umberto and tasting chocolate . Cioccolato di ModicaCocoa has very ancient and not very Sicilian origins. The first people to work the seeds were the Aztecs in distant Central America. It was later in the 16th century that the Spaniards brought the tasty seeds to the County of Modica . What makes Modica’s chocolate unique is its special cold processing, which gives it a grainy and irregular appearance. The first flavours to be added were vanilla and cinnamon, and over the centuries new ones were experimented with. Over the years the techniques were changed and refined, but the master chocolatiers of Modica did not want to modify the original recipe or process in any way.
This means that we can still taste the ancient flavours of an ancient tradition today. In 2003 the city’s twenty producers formed the Modica Chocolate Consortium in the aim of protecting and defining the processing and production techniques.

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A hall for the feasts

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Some masterpieces

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A symbol for the town

A new site for a new church

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

From International Gothic to present day

A miniature city

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Feasting in Palazzolo

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The interior and its masterpieces

A triumph of colour

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The chocolate of Modica

Many owners, one palace

A prominent church

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A half-Baroque church

The disastrous earthquake

A city in colour

An eagle-shaped city

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

The wall comes to life

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Wonderful quick decorations

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A colourful floor

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The city of museums

Feast days

A talking palace

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

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

A long reconstruction

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

A feast only for Scicli

A new site for a new city

Norman apses

The Maiolica of the staircase

A museum to save a tradition

St. Sebastian, so much work!

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

The internal colours

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

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

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The colours of the cathedral

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

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

A small room with a golden entrance

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

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The Baroque town by the sea

Between white and black

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

A majestic and luminous church

Two illustrious patron saints

The theatre of taste

Prominent façade

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

New roads for Catania

The two churches

The church of Carmine

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

A square as the heart of the city

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Staircase of Angels

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The Burgos crucifix

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

One city, three sites

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

One city, two sites

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

Discovering the mother church

Some prestigious works

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Searching for colour

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

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

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