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.

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The colours of the cathedral

A prominent church

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

A miniature city

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

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

A majestic and luminous church

Two illustrious patron saints

A talking palace

A new site for a new church

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

A symbol for the town

The chocolate of Modica

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Connections with other UNESCO sites

The interior and its masterpieces

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The city of museums

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

A feast only for Scicli

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

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

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

An eagle-shaped city

A city in colour

St. Sebastian, so much work!

Norman apses

One city, two sites

The theatre of taste

A Nobel Prize in Modica

The Maiolica of the staircase

Wonderful quick decorations

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

Searching for colour

Feasting in Palazzolo

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A new site for a new city

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

A long reconstruction

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

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

The Burgos crucifix

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

The façade used as a puppet theatre

A triumph of colour

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

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Some prestigious works

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

Some masterpieces

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A colourful floor

The wall comes to life

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A hall for the feasts

Between white and black

The disastrous earthquake

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

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

Feast days

A half-Baroque church

From International Gothic to present day

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

The church of Carmine

A square as the heart of the city

New roads for Catania

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

Discovering the mother church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

A museum to save a tradition

One city, three sites

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

A small room with a golden entrance

The internal colours

The Staircase of Angels

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Modica, a city with ancient origins

Prominent façade

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Baroque town by the sea

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

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The two churches

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town