“… un paese in figura di melagrana spaccata; vicino al mare ma campagnolo; meta' ristretto su uno sprone di roccia, meta' sparpagliato ai suoi piedi; con tante scale fra le due meta' a far da pacieri, e nuvole in cielo da un campanile all'altro, trafelate come staffette dei Cavalleggeri del Re...”

da "Argo il cieco" di Gesualdo Bufalino

Set in a valley and on the slopes of the four hills surround it. Modica was rich of churches and palaces in gothic style, before the earthquake in 1693 destroyed everything.
It was a river city, before a flood in 1901 that made necessary to cover its streams.
Nowadays the town late Baroque is registered in the Unesco list of Heritage of Humanity.
Elegant and refined, noble country since the thirteenth century with Chiaramonte, and then with Cabrera and Cabrera Henriquez. Keep an antiquity of history and art left by the Sicilians, Greeks, Arabs, Normans and Spanish over the centuries made it big.
From the viewpoint of Modica Alta, the city offers the spectacle of itself, and houses clinging to the rocks, one upon the other, and bell towers.

Going down, through narrow streets, stairways and roof gardens, secluded place and the reveals, scattered among the neighbourhoods, the late baroque jewels: the spectacular Cathedral of St. George with the long staircase that connects the bottom to the top of the city.
The Cathedral of St. Peter with the statues of the twelve apostles to watch Corso Umberto, the historical center. And then the buildings Polara, Tedeschi, Cannata, a riot of crisp white stone, inscribed with the imagination of local stone-mason. Behind the Cathedral of St. Peter, Via Grimaldi, the street with typical cobblestones, especially impressive at night, when the stone reflects the light of lamps and fragrances absorbed during the day.

Still along the Corso Umberto, the Church of Carmine, the Portal De Leva, and just beyond, Santa Maria of Betlem, all architectures, in part, Chiaramonte Gothic. Then the museums that collect the peasant art (the museum of popular arts and traditions “ S.A. Guastella”) and written statement (the birthplace of Salvatore Quasimodo and Tommaso Campailla).

Close to the beautiful beaches of the coast, surrounded by countryside with stone wall, Modica also fascinates with its own kitchen, in particular sweets, like chocolate, from the famous Aztec and Spanish tradition, the “ ‘mpanatigghie, the “ nucatoli”, desserts with almonds and marzipan, too baroque in shape and flavor.