Daytrip to Modica, The chocolate capital of Sicily – Exploring Eastern Sicily, Part 12

This post is the continuation of a long drawn out series documenting our travels to the Eastern part of the Italian island of Sicily in the European Spring of 2025. We were now on our last full day in the beautiful hill town of Ragusa where we had spent the last 2 days exploring the old and new part of town. Ragusa Ibla had charmed us to no end ( Ragusa Ibla, the most charming hill town in Sicily – Exploring Eastern Sicily, Part 10 ) & Ragusa Superiore though more modern had a charm of it’s own ( A walk up the hill to Ragusa Superiore – Exploring Eastern Sicily, Part 11 ).

We woke up to yet another gorgeous morning at the B&B Terra del Sole. We enjoyed the sunrise from the comfort of our terrace room. We had one more night here but because we had added it later we had to change rooms to a different one for our last night. So we decided to enjoy that beautiful terrace for a few more hours before we checked out of that room.

Ragusa Ibla just before dawn from the terrace room at the B&B Terra del Sole

The terrace room which we had enjoyed for 2 nights in Ragusa

Changing colours of the sky as the sun rises behind Ragusa Ibla

The better half clicks a photo of me enjoying my morning coffee

Happy us enjoying a great sunrise over Ragusa Ibla

The sun peeks through the clouds on a beautiful morning in Ragusa

As the sun got higher in the sky we finally gave up our cushy chairs on the terrace and got ready to go for breakfast and leave for sightseeing. The plan for the day was a day trip to Modica, a nearby hill town which is famous for its specialty chocolates and for its beautiful setting on either sides of a valley. We enjoyed the fresh and tasty breakfast on the sunny terrace of the B&B before leaving our luggage with our host, who would transfer it to our new room later.

Waiting for breakfast to be served at the B&B Terra del Sole

We then got the local electric bus from the square below which took us to the main bus station. We reached the main bus station well in time for our bus to Modica for which we had booked tickets online the previous evening. Once again the supposed problems in public transport in Sicily were nowhere to be seen and we had a smooth bus journey which dropped us right in the centre of Lower Modica or Modica Bassa. Due to its spectacular setting in a deep gorge Modica is almost all vertical. The Lower town has the Main Street Corso Umberto I which runs right through the centre of the town which rises vertically from it on both sides.

We started right in front of the town hall which had the Monument to the fallen in WW I. The beautiful skies overhead made it a great photo spot. We then moved towards the Cathedral of St Peter the apostle which is the main church in the lower part of town. The most noticeable thing about the architecture in Modica was the golden colour of the locally sourced limestone used for buildings. As in the case of most towns in this part of Sicily the town was rebuilt after the earthquake of 1693 in the baroque style giving it its pleasing uniform architecture.

Monument to the fallen of WW I in Modica

Golden coloured limestone architecture in Modica

We reached the Cathedral of St Peter the Apostle which has a grand staircase rising right from Corso Umerto I decorated with statues of all the apostles. Though there has been a church at this location from the late 13th century, this version was built in this baroque style with the delicately carved front facade after the earthquake. The distinctive stone colour made it look even more beautiful.

Cathedral of St Peter the Apostle in Modica Bassa

With the beautiful facade of the Duomo of San Pietro in Modica

The grand staircase of the Cathedral starts right on the Main Street of town

The golden limestone facade of the Duomo of San Pietro, Modica

Grey clouds gather overhead as we go into the Cathedral of San Pietro in Modica

It was starting to get overcast as we went inside the Cathedral. There were predictions for scattered thunderstorms that day but we hoped that they wouldn’t be too bad and were keeping our fingers and toes crossed. All those thoughts were driven out of our heads by the sheer grandeur of the Cathedral interiors. Tall decorated pillars leading our eyes to a beautifully painted and stuccoed ceiling. A lavish gilded altar at one end and a humongous pipe organ at the other. It was a photographers dream come true and I enjoyed myself to the fullest taking photos of the colourful interiors.

The gorgeous columns and painted ceiling of the Duomo San Pietro, Modica

The Grand Pipe Organ above the entrance of the Duomo

The lavishly gilded altar of the Duomo of San Pietro, Modica

The Cathedral interiors are a photographers dream

The ceiling painted with biblical scenes and stuccoed – A grand big piece of art

The Grand Cathedral of St Peter in Modica is as beautiful as it gets

After roaming through the nave and the side aisles gawking at the beautiful architecture we did our usual church routine of sitting in the pews for a few minutes before stepping out and resuming our exploration of Modica.

Enjoying the beautiful interiors of the Duomo of San Pietro, Modica

Modica rises up vertically on the far side of Corso Umberto from the patio of the Cathedral

We then started our walk up the stairs to go to the upper part of town or Modica Alta which is the older, historic part of town. As expected we tested our knees and our stamina going up stairs after stairs passing through narrow lanes of the older part of town till we reached the huge church that dominates this part of town – The Cathedral of St George. Like Ragusa, the two parts of Modica had a Cathedral of their own. The newer town built their own Cathedral as the town expanded and rebuilt post the earthquake, while the older town Cathedral still continued to function.

Walking up stairs after stairs going up to Modica Alta

Walking through narrow lanes of Modica Alta

The Cathedral of San Giorgio in Modica Alta

If you get a sense of deja vu after reading my previous Ragusa Ibla post and seeing this Cathedral, so did we! We read later that this Cathedral had been designed by the same architect that had designed the Cathedral in Ragusa Ibla and the facades look eerily similar.

Getting our photo clicked by a kind fellow tourist in front of the Duomo San Giorgio, Modica

Modica Bassa down in the gorge below from the steps of the upper Cathedral

We went into the Cathedral of San Giorgio which was not as grand as the Cathedral of the lower town it had the usual pleasing symmetry that churches are known for. It also had a 15th century painting collage as the main altar which was something different. We knew that we would find the Statue of St George on his horse killing a Dragon – and sure enough there it was! As this cathedral was rebuilt after the earthquake the newer organ is not mounted high up.

The relatively less decadent interiors of the Cathedral of St George in Modica Alta

The 15th century painted altarpiece in the Duomo San Giorgio, Modica

The newer 18th century organ is not placed high up

Statue of St George killing a Dragon in the Cathedral dedicated to him

A 15th century sculpture of Mary at the Duomo San Giorgio, Modica

While we were already high up in Modica Alta, the Duomo offered us an even higher vantage point as the Bell Tower of the Duomo San Giorgio could be climbed for a small fee. Never ones to let a chance to climb a tower go we bought the tickets and climbed up the bell tower for spectacular views over the town straddling either side of the gorge. As luck would have it the skies opened up when we were up in the bell tower. So we waited out the brief rains shower with great views to pass the time.

Grey skies over Modica from the Bell Tower of the Duomo of San Giorgio, Modica

A downward pointing photo showing the vertical nature of Modica

Modica Alta continues on even higher up from the bell tower of the Duomo

The Cathedral dome and Modica Alta all around from the bell tower

Posing around for photos waiting for the rains to stop

Finally the drizzle stopped and we started our descent down the tower and back to the lower part of town. We took a longer more scenic route down as we wanted to enjoy the views on the entire way down.

On our way down from the bell tower of the Duomo San Giorgio, Modica Alta

Dramatic skies above the beautiful facade of the Cathedral of St George in Modica Alta

The Better half poses with Modica Alta in the Background

Leaving Modica Alta behind as we start our walk back to Modica Bassa

The Scenic path down from Modica Alta to Bassa

Enjoying the scenic walk down to Modica Bassa

A dog waits patiently for his owner with Modica Alta in the background

We reached down near a small church called Church of St Mary of Bethlehem which was all decorated with lights. Would have been beautiful at night but sadly we would be back in Ragusa by then.

Outside the Church of St Mary of Bethlehem decorated with lights

We had bought combo tickets to another church with the lower town Cathedral so we went towards the Carmine Church. We passed yet another pretty closed church on the way which was the Church of St Domenico. Italian towns are dotted with these pretty small churches and Modica was no different.

Church of San Domenico in Modica Bassa

We reached the Carmine Church which has one of the oldest and most intact rose windows on the entire island. This church was one of the few that emerged unscathed after the earthquake of 1693 and hence exists in its original style from the 14th century.

The Carmine Church from the 14th century – A rare structure left undamaged by the quake of 1693

The better half poses outside the historic church

We went inside to see the interiors which is full of religious art and we were glad we had bought the combo ticket. We walked around the church and did our usual church routine before saying goodbye to the oldest original church of Modica.

A marble statue showing the Annunciation of Mary

Art filled interiors of the Carmine Church, Modica

We then circled back to the Duomo of San Pietro where we had started as it was the landmark to what we were searching for after all the walking in Modica. Just opposite the cathedral in a narrow lane is the most famous chocolate shop of Modica – The Antica Dolceria Bonajuto.

Back outside the Duomo of San Pietro

We went inside and the welcoming staff were kind enough to explain to us the various chocolate types on sale and given tasters for any one that we wanted to taste. Modica Chocolate has crystalline sugar unlike chocolate from elsewhere which gives it its unique taste and consistency. We sampled a lot of types of Chocolate and bought a significant stash to enjoy back home. We also bought a cup of hot chocolate which turned out to be the best hot chocolate we have had, beating the ones in Belgium and Switzerland.

Variety of Modica Chocolate on sale

Enjoying the best cup of Hot Chocolate we have had till date

The better half with our stash of chocolates to enjoy back home

That was the end of our time in Modica as it was time to walk back to the bus station for our bus back to Modica. In an ideal scenario we would have liked to spend a night or two here, but you can’t have everything and a day trip was better than not seeing Modica at all.

We got to the bus station in time for our bus back to Ragusa from where we took the little electric bus back to Piazza Republica. We stopped at the Cafe Agli Archi right at the square before going back to our B&B for some Arancini and Granitas as we had not had the time for a proper lunch in Modica.

Enjoying Arancini and Granitas back in Ragusa

Back at the B&B Terra del Sole our host had kept our new room ready. Nothing could beat that terrace room but even this smaller room was really well done.

Our smaller room for our last night in Ragusa

We rested our legs for some time and had a small siesta before leaving our room again to go to Ragusa Ibla for our last evening walk to the Giardino Ibleo. I left the SLR behind as I just wanted to enjoy the walk. We reached the gardens and enjoyed an hour of just sitting on a bench and watching the locals enjoy this beautiful little garden in this beautiful little gem of a town.

The Church inside the Giardino Ibleo

Enjoying the gardens at leisure on our last evening in Ragusa

Soon it was time for the gardens to close and for us to have dinner. For our last dinner we went to That’s a Moro, a restaurant right next to La Bettola that we had gone to on our previous two nights in Ragusa.

A couple of local felines in Ragusa Ibla

We ordered the Eggplant Parmesan which was now a favourite of ours & a ravioli in pork sauce for me while the better half had her Pasta Ala Norma. The food was delicious and the outdoor ambience peaceful, a perfect last dinner in Ragusa.

The Eggplant Parmesan – Reliably delicious

My Ravioli in Pork Sauce

Enjoying our last dinner in Ragusa

After enjoying dinner we walked back to the B &B having thoroughly enjoyed our 3 days in Ragusa. It had been a long day walking around two very different hill towns in Sicily and we went right off to sleep on returning to our room.

Mobile photos on our way back to our B &B from Ragusa Ibla

Our decision to spend three nights in this tiny hill town had been fully justified. We would leave Ragusa for the city of Catania the next morning after breakfast for a night there before flying back home. I still wanted to walk around Ragusa one last time the early next morning if my by now creaking knees wouldn’t complain a lot.

Whether my knees would cooperate or not is topic for the next and last post for this series. Some other time, Some other day!

Till then,

Ciao!