Church of San Giorgio - Modica
The church is located in Corso San Giorgio. The current structure is the final result of successive reconstructions that took place following the earthquakes that struck Modica in 1542, in 1613 and, the most disastrous, in 1693.
The imposing tower façade, which rises to a total height of 62 meters, was built starting in 1702 and completed, in the final crowning and with the affixing of the iron cross on the spire, in 1842. The dome rises for 36 meters. The entrance to the church is preceded by a beautiful staircase of 164 steps, the work of the Jesuit Francesco Di Marco in 1818.
The part of the staircase under Corso San Giorgio was designed in 1874 by the architect Alessandro Cappellani Judica and completed in 1880. The front perspective of the whole is enriched by a hanging garden on several levels, called Orto del Piombo.
The interior of the church has five naves, with 22 columns surmounted by Corinthian capitals. Inside there are many works including: a grandiose organ with 4 keyboards, 130 registers and 5000 pipes, fully functional, built between 1885 and 1888 by Allieri Casimiro; The Assumption by Filippo Paladini (1610); The Nativity by Carlo Cane, from the seventeenth century; a stupendous marble statue of the Gagini school, the Madonna della Neve from the workshop of Mancini and Berrettaro, from 1511; the grandiose polyptych of the high altar, consisting of 10 panels, perhaps painted by Girolamo Alibrandi from Messina in 1513, and depicting the scenes of the Holy Family and the life of Jesus, from birth to the Resurrection and Ascension, as well as 2 panels with the classic iconography of the two holy knights, St. George defeating the Dragon, and St. Martin sharing his cloak with Jesus, who presents himself to him under the guise of a poor beggar
Card insertion: Ignatius Caloggero
Photo: Ignazio Caloggero
Information contributions: Ignazio Caloggero, Web
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