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.

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A small room with a golden entrance

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

Prominent façade

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

Feast days

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The wall comes to life

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

Discovering the mother church

The internal colours

Some prestigious works

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

The church of Carmine

Two illustrious patron saints

A half-Baroque church

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The Baroque town by the sea

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

Connections with other UNESCO sites

A new site for a new church

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

The interior and its masterpieces

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

A feast only for Scicli

A symbol for the town

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

The two churches

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The city of museums

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

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A colourful floor

The Staircase of Angels

The Maiolica of the staircase

A prominent church

The chocolate of Modica

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

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

A museum to save a tradition

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

From International Gothic to present day

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

New roads for Catania

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

A miniature city

Some masterpieces

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

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

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

The Burgos crucifix

A talking palace

One city, two sites

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

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A city in colour

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Between white and black

A majestic and luminous church

An eagle-shaped city

Searching for colour

A hall for the feasts

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

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

Many owners, one palace

A new site for a new city

A long reconstruction

The theatre of taste

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Wonderful quick decorations

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

Norman apses

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The disastrous earthquake

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

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Feasting in Palazzolo

One city, three sites

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

A triumph of colour