Modica (Ragusa Province) is 16 km from Ragusa, alt. 296 m, in the southern Monti Iblei, on a hill surrounded at the baste by two torrents, Pozzo dei Pruni and Janni Mauro, which flow together to form the Fiumara di Modica. Area 291 sq km, pop. 51,073, post-code 97015, tel. 0932. Economy: Agriculture (cereals, greenhouse vegetables, olives, almonds), cattle breeding (the local Modica breed); iron and steel products, building materials, animal feed.
The territory has been inhabited since the Bronze Age. Settlements of that epoch and a store of metal manufactured articles have been found. This was the Sicel city of Motyca, which certainly had already existed for some centuries before Rome subjected it on at least two occasions, the second time being in 212 BC. It was then declared a decuman city and subsequently a stipendiary city. The Arabs conquered it in 845, renaming it Mohac, and developed, as they did elsewhere, agriculture and stock-breeding; the resulting trade and commerce continued to flourish under the Normans. The Aragonese made it the capital of a County and the County of Modica is an expression that is still used today.
Partly because of its strategic position the city was for many centuries one of the most powerful fiefs of the Sicilian baronage, from the Chiaromontes (14th century) to the Henriquez-Cabreras (15th-18th centuries). The earthquake in 1693, which was felt in all the Val di Noto and destroyed most of Modica, led to the reconstruction of the town according to the canons of baroque architecture.
Of interest: Civic Museum; Museo Ibleo delle arti e tradizioni popolari (Hyblaean Art and Folklore Museum).; Town Hall; Palazzo Tedeschi; 17th century facade of Santa Maria del Soccorso; Castle Rock.
There is a sectional archives in Modica at:
Churches (Noto Diocese) include the following:
Families researched in these records include the following:
Links to other sites about Modica include:
My latest book on CD is titled Sicily - A Reference for Researchers and is now available. With a file for each town (plus many other files), it relates the history of Sicily as reflected in the photos, records and festivals of its towns. It contains over 2500 text and photo files and can be ordered at CD order.
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