Modica - Church of San Giorgio

The upper town of Modica is dominated by the Church of San Giorgio, which received its present form in 1720-38. It is approached by a flight of 250 steps. The façade with its five doorways is crowned by a high central tower, which emphasizes yet again the elevation of the building. The church is obviously related to the one in nearby Ragusa with the same name and both can be ascribed to Rosario Gagliardi.

Gagliardi was able to use material from an earlier building on the site, in so far as it had survived the earthquake of 1693. This is demonstrated in the interior, a vaulted columned basilica with three aisles, especially the chancel with its altar retable (8x6m/26x20ft in size), which is made up of many sections and which was created for the earlier building by the painter Bernardino Niger in 1573, using high Renaissance forms. The pictures are arranged in three sections. The lower one shows the Holy Family between the Saints George and Martin, the middle one the Adoration of the Three Kings between the Offering in the temple and the 12-year-old Jesus in the temple; finally the upper section depicts the Resurrection between the motifs of Pentecost and the Ascension.