Modica
Modica is a city in southeastern Sicily and is located in the province of Ragusa in Italy with 54 112 inhabitants ( 31 December 2012). It is one of the late Baroque towns of the Val di Noto, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Location and data
The city lies at an altitude of 296 m slm and 20 km south-east of Ragusa, on the southern slopes of the Monti iblei. The main districts of Modica Modica are alta, Modica bassa, Modica sorda and Marina di Modica.
The neighboring municipalities are Buscemi, Giarratana, Sampieri, Noto (SR ), Palazzolo Acreide, Pozzallo, Ragusa, Rosolini (SR) and Scicli.
Economy
Major industry is agriculture with the cultivation of olives, carob trees and crops. Vegetables are grown on a large scale in greenhouses. In addition, have livestock ( Modica - beef), dairy farming and the production of chocolate from Modica significance attained. Tourism also is strongly encouraged for several years, in particular by events of historical events and the expulsion of typical specialties like chocolate and chocolate liquor, which are due to high demand and marketed nationally.
History
The city was founded by the Siculi under the name Motyka and occupied in later times by the Greeks and Romans, who hardly left significant traces. The Arabs conquered the city and named it 845 Mohac. In the 11th century, took over the Normans, led by Roger I., the city.
Modica was destroyed by the earthquake of January 9, 1693 like other cities in the Val di Noto, in Sicily in which 60,000 people were killed. Rebuilt in the style of Sicilian Baroque, Modica is despite two floods in 1833 and 1902 now a quiet regional center with one of the most beautiful cityscapes in the style of Sicilian Baroque.
Structures
- Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in 1615, the building remained unfinished
- Stand San Pietro church from the 18th century with a staircase to the figures of the twelve apostles
- Church of San Giorgio from the 12th century, rebuilt in the 17th century by Rosario Gagliardi, it is located at the end of a stairway with 250 steps
- Birthplace of Salvatore Quasimodo
- Dammusi
Pictures
San Giorgio - Dome
San Giorgio - Interior
Palace of the Tedeschi family
People
- Salvatore Quasimodo (1901-1968), poet and critic, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1959
- Rosario Gisana ( b. 1959 ), Bishop