Saint George Cathedral Modica
I’ve been relaxing in Pozzallo, content with long walks on the beach and uninspired to post on my travel blog or chase Sicilian attractions. The days are long (6:30 am – 8:30 pm) and April weather is mild. Like most coastal areas, Pozzallo’s wind can be fierce and unpredictable with temperatures changing quickly. We’ve had a few sudden Mediterranean squalls – ominous skies followed by rain, thunder, and lightning – almost as exciting as African storms.
Sicilian Poppy – chainimage.com
Transportation
I’ve considered the best way to navigate Sicily and explore places of interest. You don’t need a car in Pozzallo. For other parts of the island, depending on where you want to go, you can rent a car or bike or take a ferry, bus, or train. There are multiple daily departures. Ferries are costly but buses inexpensive and reliable. Figuring out the schedule and pickup and drop off points is the hard part.
Sicilian Wildflowers
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Buildings in Modica Alta “almost climb the rocks of the mountain”.
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Modica Architecture – Scopri Modica
Bus stops aren’t marked and the website and learning where to catch buses is confusing. Contacting the bus company directly helps but don’t expect English.
Hyblaean Mountain (Monti Iblei) Gorge Sicily – footage.framepool.com
Once you find the pickup point, if you have the exact fare bus drivers may sell you a ticket when boarding the bus. If you’re friends with the driver, a new pickup point might even be created in your honor… If not, you’ll have to figure out where to buy your ticket – sometimes it’s a nearby gelateria or café. You can miss a bus trying to buy your ticket – not fun but it happens in Sicily.
Sicilian Modicana Cattle – sicilianroots
Spring Scenery
Tuesday, I took a day trip to Modica. It’s close to Pozzallo in the southeastern part of Sicily, about an hour away. The drive was beautiful with glorious scenery reminiscent of favorite coastal areas in Greece and Turkey. We passed stone villas and ruins, olive groves, grazing cattle, and open fields of purple, white, and yellow wildflowers with patches of bright red poppies. The other passengers were Sicilian men of all ages – most fell asleep during the gentle ride.
Temple in a Field of Sicilian Wildflowers – pixabay
The Mediterranean climate encourages flowers year-round, but in spring Sicilian wildflowers are spectacular! They thrive in rich volcanic soil “fed by ash and lava from the volatile tantrums of Mt. Etna and other volcanoes”.
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In April and May Sicily is “awash with a ribald rush of color”.
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Santa Maria di Betlem – Scopri Modica
Baroque Architecture, Earthquake, Economy
Modica is an elegant Baroque town – population about 60,000. In 2002, it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Like Pozzallo it’s in Ragusa Province near the southern Iblei Mountains.
Easter Sunday Festa della Madonna Vasa-Vasa – Le Case dello Zodiaco
In 1693, a devastating earthquake reshaped southeast Sicily drastically changing Modica and destroying its charisma and political importance. Reconstruction helped the city regain its popularity and Baroque appearance.
Modica – italythisway.com
I explored Modica by foot covering as much territory as possible in four hours. I couldn’t find a guide and didn’t see any other tourists. It’s off-season, so you do your own research. Later I heard about Hermes-Sicily – guides who organize visits in southeastern Sicily. I’ll contact them before visiting Syracuse and Noto.
Stray Cats Modica Old Town
I got sidetracked following networks of winding side streets with houses, buildings, stray cats, and cafés. I entered Santuario Madonna delle Grazie and spent quiet time inside with about ten faithful Catholics. Some backstreet houses seem to be built into the rocky hillside. The quiet cobbled streets were mostly empty and several abandoned houses in disrepair.
Santuario Madonna Delle Grazie
Modica has Greek, Roman, Arab, and Phoenician ties. From the seventeenth until the early nineteenth century it was known as the “City of Hercules“. The 1693 earthquake destroyed Modica and other cities in the valley of the Sicilian Baroque.
Il Duomo di San Giorgio at Night – typicalsicily.it.
The Noto Valley has eight Medieval late-Baroque cities – Caltagirone, Militello Val di Catania, Catania, Modica, Noto, Palazzolo, Ragusa, and Scicli. These cities “were rebuilt (in part or entirely) after the 1693 earthquake”. Their architecture marks the end of one of the “last Baroque periods in Europe“.
Hillside Old Town Modica
Modica’s economy is mostly agricultural, “characterized by olive, bean, wheat, and cereal production”. The area is known for prized Modicana cattle that flourish in the Mediterranean climate and produce “quality meat and milk”.
Church of the Carmine Modica
Modica – Bassa and Alta
As we approached central Modica, the bus veered sharply down a steep rocky ridge with stone houses sprawled along the hillside.
Bell Tower
Modica Bassa is in a valley where two rivers – Ianni Mauro and Pozzo – meet. Because of destructive flooding locals “covered” the rivers. Today, the area – Corso Umberto – is a historical center with spectacular churches and monuments. The third part of Modica – Sorda – is a new residential, commercial area.
Church of St Mary of Bethlehem
I divided my time between Modica Bassa and Alta. Bassa buildings guaranteed to blow you away include:
- Benedictine Monastery now the Palace of Culture
- Baroque Church of S. Pietro
- Eighteenth-century Tedeschi Palace
- Seventeenth-century Church of S. Maria del Soccorso
- Nineteenth-century Garibaldi Theater
Antique Horse-Drawn Cart
Notable Corso Umberto attractions include Palazzo Grimaldi – the “finest example of neo-Renaissance style buildings in Modica”. The Palazzo’s art gallery displays paintings by famous nineteenth century artists from the karst plains of the Iblean area. Palazzo Polara also has exquisite Baroque architecture and Palazzo de Mercedari – attached to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Grace – which was previously a convent and hospital during the 1709 plague”.
Fountain Palazzo Grimaldi Modica Bassa
History
Modica’s history dates back to 1000 BC when the Sicels (ancient Sicilians) became part of a Greek colony from Siracusa. Following the Punic Wars, the Romans took over the colony and later passed it to the Byzantines, Arabs, and Normans.
Modica Hillside
The first settlements began during the Bronze Age. After Arab conquest, Modica became an important commercial, agricultural center.
Palazzo della Cultura
Churches, Palaces, Monuments
Modica is a powerhouse of history, culture, and architecture. A day trip is a tiny intro to exploring and understanding its treasures. Known as “the city of a hundred churches” Modica is rich in Baroque Period cathedrals, convents, and monasteries. Most of these religious structures were built with “local golden stone”. There are brief descriptions of some in this post.
Reliefs Church of San Domenico
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A special feature of Modica Baroque churches is that instead of overlooking squares, they face “imposing and spectacular flights of steps modeled on the slopes of the city’s hills”.
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Teatro Garibaldi Modica – Nuovo Sud
A “fanciful rococo church”, the Cathedral of St. George looks like a “wedding cake topper”. Perched above 164 steps San Giorgio is the Modica’s mother church and on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Modica Street – typicalsicily.it
The Cathedral of St. George is a monumental symbol of Sicilian Baroque art. Italian architect Rosario Gagliardi helped reconstruct the church after the 1693 earthquake. It reopened in 1738.
The Church of San Pietro is at the top of a staircase lined with “saints resembling a statuary welcoming committee”. It’s the Patron Saint of Modica Bassa. San Pietro is a typical example of eighteenth-century Sicilian Baroque.
Modica Panorama – typicalsicily.it
San Pietro’s original foundation dates back to the 1300s but the current structure is from the seventeenth century. Destroyed by the 1693 earthquake, it was rebuilt on masonry structures that survived the earthquake. Statues of San Cataldo, Santa Rosalia, San Pietro, and the Madonna embellish the residence of the second order of mendicant nuns. The church façade has a sculpture of Jesus.
Interior Santuario Madonna Delle Grazie – Scopri Modica
The Santuario Madonna Delle Grazie was built in 1615 after discovery of a slate tablet depicting the Madonna with the Child in her arms. The tablet burned incessantly for three days in a bramble bush without being consumed. The tablet is preserved in the central altar of the church. In 1627, Madonna delle Grazie was proclaimed the main Patron Saint of Modica.
Frescoes Rock Church of San Nicolò Inferiore – izi.TRAVEL
The Rock Church of San Nicolò Inferiore is the oldest church in Modica. It’s a rare example of the Byzantine rock architecture of Ragusa’s Iblea area. Discovered in 1987, it reflects original architecture created by rock excavation. The interior has paintings of icons “articulated around a rectangular hall and an apse”.
Enzo Assenza – Colasanti Aste
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Known as “the city of a hundred churches” Modica is rich in Baroque Period cathedrals, convents, and monasteries.
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Chiesa di S. Maria del Soccorso – lasiciliainrete.it
Jesuits built the Rock Church in 1629. It’s near the Jesuit College. Architect Rosario Gagliardi designed and helped rebuild it after the 1693 earthquake.
Chiesa del Carmine Franciscan Rose Window – Scopri Modica
A fourteenth century Gothic-Chiaramonte style monument, the Church of Santa Maria del Carmelo (Carmine) accommodated Carmelite friars. A beautiful Franciscan rose window adorns the church portal. Carmine is one of few churches still showing “architectural traces from before the violent 1693 earthquake”.
Church of San Domenico
The seventeenth-century Baroque Church of San Domenico is in Piazza Principe di Napoli. The Dominicans built it in the fourteenth century. It was destroyed by the 1693 earthquake and rebuilt.
Church of San Domenico – Discover Modica
The Church of St. Mary of Bethlehem also dates back to the fourteenth century. Traces of its past are visible in “bas-reliefs depicting adoration of the shepherds”. Inside there’s a late Gothic style Palatine Chapel. The arch has Arabic, Catalan, and Norman decorative elements. It houses tombs of the family of the counts Cabrera.
Church of Santa Maria di Betlem
Restored after the earthquake, Duomo di San Pietro is one of the most beautiful churches in Modica. The façade has four statues representing San Cataldo, Santa Rosalia, San Pietro, and the Madonna. The church includes a sculpture of Jesus and statues of the twelve apostles.
Nativity of St. John the Baptist – Gian Battista Ragazzi
Modica Chocolate
Modica has a history of chocolate making detailed in its Chocolate Museum. The ancient chocolate recipe came from Spanish conquistadors during their domination of Sicily. They got it from the Aztecs. Modica produces chocolate in many flavours like orange, cinnamon, and chili pepper.
Palazzo della Cultura
Palazzo della Cultura is Modica’s Civic Museum. In the seventeenth century it was San Placido’s Benedictine Monastery and during the fifteenth century a palace for the Platamone Family of olive oil fame.
Eracle by Cafeo – ragusanews.com
The most valuable piece in the museum is the Eracle by Cafeo, a bronze statuette “depicting Hercules naked in a standing position dating from the end of the 5th to the beginning of the 4th century BC”. Found in 1967 along the Irmino River, the statuette is one of the most important Hellenistic finds in Sicily.
Teatro Garibaldi Modica Interior – commons.wikimedia.org
Garibaldi Theater
Described as “a jewelry box of velvet seats surrounding an opera stage.” Garibaldi Theater’s first foundation dates back to the 1820s. Expanded and embellished the theater reopened in 1857 with Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata.
After the unification of Italy, the theater was named for renowned independent thinker Giuseppe Garibaldi, a leader of freedom and independence. Garibaldi theater became an important center of cultural life in Modica with opera, music, art exhibitions, and prose and theatrical performances.
Church of St. Mary of Bethlehem Palatine Chapel – Cosmo Ibleo
Famous Modica Residents
Twentieth century poet Natale Salvatore Quasimodo was born in Modica in 1901. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1959. The house where he was born is now a museum displaying his books and furniture.
Poet Salvatore Quasimodo – Sicily Widespread Hospitality
Quasimodo’s archives appear at Museo Civico F.L. Belgiorno in the Palazzo della Cultura. The museum also has archaeological and historical collections and the modern art of Enzo Assenza.
Enzo Assenza – Antonio Randazzo
Tommaso Campailla Philosopher and Poet – RagusaNews
Tommaso Campailla was an Italian philosopher, doctor, politician, poet, and teacher. Born in Modica in 1668 to the aristocratic family of Antonio and Adriana Giardina, he studied law in Catania at the young age of sixteen.
The Castle of the Counts of Modica – typicalsicily.it
Castello Dei Conti Di Modica and Clock Tower
Castello Dei Conti Di Modica and the Clock Tower are two iconographic symbols of Modica. They dominate the historical center of town and the Counts of Modica and County Governor lived there. Built for military purposes, the castle was the seat of Modica’s political and administrative power. It also served as a prison and courthouse.
St. Peter’s Church Modica
Easter in Modica
Easter in Modica includes a special celebration – the. “On Easter Sunday two processions, one with the Madonna and one with the risen Jesus, start from two different paths and meet where the two hug and kiss each other. In the dialect the kiss and the hug are called ‘vasata’ – that’s why it’s called Vasa Vasa.”
The “moving and engaging meeting of Madonna and Jesus” includes the release of white doves. It’s Modica Easter tradition to follow “Idria Tuesday” by continuing Easter celebrations on the Tuesday after Easter Sunday in the homonymous sanctuary on the hill of the Idria overlooking the city.
Farm Ristorante Al Monaco – almonaco.it
There is so much in Modica! This blog post doesn’t touch many cultural and architectural attractions or local restaurants and cuisine. Farm restaurants are popular and Modica has a renowned cookery school.
Buona giornata, più tarde…
