Baroque Portal - Modica, Sicily - An Ornate Entrance on Corso Umberto I

An illuminated Baroque stone portal marks the entrance to a historic noble palazzo on Corso Umberto I in the heart of Modica.

An ornate Baroque stone portal forms an impressive entrance to a historic noble palazzo on Corso Umberto I in the center of Modica. Illuminated from below, its carved columns, decorative capitals, scrolling stonework and projecting balcony stand out dramatically against the warm ochre façade. At the time of this photograph, the building housed the Grana Barocco Art Hotel & Spa, which occupied a restored 17th-century palazzo at Corso Umberto I 133, close to the monumental Church of San Pietro. Historical descriptions of the property highlight the richly decorated portal together with statues, columns, balconies and carved masks that embellish the building. Such elaborate stonework reflects the architectural character for which Modica and the other historic towns of southeastern Sicily are celebrated. Following the devastating earthquake of 1693, the Val di Noto became the setting for an extraordinary period of rebuilding and architectural development, producing the distinctive Sicilian Baroque landscape that today forms an essential part of Modica's historic identity.