San Giorgio Cathedral, Modica

San Giorgio Cathedral, Modica tickets: which one to buy

Modica is one of eight towns in south-eastern Sicily rebuilt after the earthquake of 1693 and listed together by UNESCO, and the usual way to see it is on a baroque circuit with Noto and Ragusa. A day covers two of the three comfortably; three is a rush. Entry to the church is free. Guided tours of Modica combine it with the other great church at the lower end of town, the cave dwellings on the hillside and a chocolate workshop, since the town's cold-worked chocolate is made to a recipe brought from Spanish America and is genuinely unlike anything else in Italy.

Drivers should know that the old town is stacked vertically and parking near the top is limited, so most visitors park low and climb. Food tours here are better value than in the bigger Sicilian cities. Nothing needs booking, but the church closes for a long lunch and that catches people out.

Visiting San Giorgio Cathedral, Modica: what to see

Three earthquakes in a century and a half, in 1542, 1613 and above all 1693, destroyed the town repeatedly, and what stands now is the result of a deliberate rebuilding from 1702 onwards. Rosario Gagliardi, the architect who shaped much of the region afterwards, gave San Giorgio a front unlike any other: three tiers narrowing as they rise, convex in the middle, the whole thing built up into a tower that carries the eye straight to the cross at the top, finally fixed in 1842.

It is approached by a monumental staircase of some 250 steps laid out across the hillside, which is why the church appears in photographs as a single vertical composition rather than a building on a square. Inside, five naves lead to a polyptych of ten panels behind the altar. A brass meridian line is set into the floor, laid in 1895, with the sun marking the date through a hole in the wall. One art historian called it a wonder of the baroque world, and the claim is not unreasonable.

San Giorgio Cathedral, Modica opening hours and the best time to go

Spring and autumn are the seasons for inland Sicily; July and August are very hot and the staircase faces the sun for most of the day. Late afternoon light is the best for the front, and the church and steps are floodlit after dark, which is when the photographs people remember get taken. The feast of Saint George in late April brings a procession that carries the saint on horseback through the streets, and the rival feast of Saint Peter in June does the same at the other end of town, a rivalry taken seriously by both parishes.

The church closes for several hours in the middle of the day. Modica splits into an upper and a lower town, connected by steps and a long ramp, and the walk between them is part of the visit. Chocolate shops on the main street stay open late. Allow half a day for the town and keep the church for the cool end of it.