Page 383 - The Rough Guide of Sicily

available in the traditional chocolate bar format available from numerous shops in
the town. Above all, seek out Sicily’s oldest chocolate manufacturer, the Antica
Dolceria Bonajuto, up an alley at Corso Umberto I 159 (daily 9am–8pm; 0932
941 225, bonajuto.it), which has been making the stuff since 1880. The shop’s a
beauty, filled with old display cabinets, and you can sample from dainty little tasting

dishes on the counter before you buy.

Corso Umberto I

Modica’s upper and lower towns are divided by the long main drag of Corso

Umberto I – which originally was a river until a flood of 1902 prompted the
authorities to cover it over. The Corso is flanked by a run of handsome palazzi, whose
balconies are buttressed by gargoyles, twisted heads and beasts, while its churches
make grandiose Baroque statements of intent. That of San Pietro, for example, has a
wide flight of steps framing the life-sized statues of the Twelve Apostles.

Modica Alta

The warren-like upper town of Modica Alta holds some genius in the shape of the
magnificent eighteenth-century facade of San Giorgio, a worthy rival to the church of
the same name in Ragusa Ibla. It’s thought that architect Rosario Gagliardi was

responsible for this, too: the elliptical facade is topped by his trademark, a belfry,
while the approach is characteristically daring – twin flights of stairs zigzag up across
the upper town’s hairpins, ending in a terrace before the church. From here, and from
the tight streets above San Giorgio, you can look back over the grey-tiled roofs and
balconies of the town, built up two sides of a narrow valley. There are more views
from the remains of the castle and its clocktower, which perches on a rocky spur
above the main part of town.

ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION: MODICA

By bus Regional buses drop you right in Modica’s centre on Corso Umberto I.

Destinations Catania (9 daily Mon–Sat, 4 daily Sun; 2hr 10min); Catania airport (9

daily Mon–Sat, 4 daily Sun; 1hr 55min); Ispica (9 daily Mon–Sat, 1 daily Sun; 30min–
1hr 10min); Noto (hourly Mon–Sat, 6 daily Sun; 1hr 25min); Ragusa (1–2 hourly
Mon–Sat, 4 daily Sun; 25min–1hr); Scicli (1–2 hourly Mon–Sat, 4 daily Sun; 30–
40min); Siracusa (10 daily Mon–Sat, 4 daily Sun; 2hr–2hr 40min).

By train The train station is a good 10min walk away from the town centre.

Destinations Noto (4 Mon–Sat only; 1hr 15min); Ragusa (4 Mon–Sat only; 15min);
Scicli (4 Mon–Sat; 20min); Siracusa (4 Mon–Sat; 1hr 45min).