Castle of Counts in Modica
The Castle of the Counts of Modica is the symbol of the city of Modica.
Placed on top of a rocky spur, it has for centuries been a natural defense for the county capital . It is assumed that the area where the castle stands was already frequent in prehistoric times, given the presence of a necropolis. Subsequently the building assumed the function of a fortress of the inhabited center. Before the earthquake of 1693, the castle housed the prisons of the city and was consecrated to the sun. After the seismic event, the Castle of the Counts underwent a massive reconstruction within the project to build the house of the County Governor. The fortress included a complex fortification with the presence of both armed forces and rooms dedicated to the Lord's residence, chapels, warehouses and prisons.
No trace remains of the five towers, four doors and walls of the castle structure. of the ancient manor. Outside there remains only a polygonal tower dating back to the fourteenth century. In the inner courtyard you can visit the medieval, civil and "criminal" prisons, a series of square rooms carved out of the rock, each reserved for a specific category of prisoners: women, common condemned men, gentlemen, people awaiting trial. For the most dangerous brigands there were two large pits about seven meters deep, closed at the top by a mighty iron grate, from which light and air entered. In the same courtyard is the church of the Madonna del Medagliere, built in 1930 on the ruins of the church of San Leonardo, and the remains of the church of San Cataldo, which was the private chapel of the Count and the Governor. There are also three bell niches now walled up on the outside.
A suggestive underground tunnel dug into the rock has recently come to light and made available, which passes through the rocky spur on which the Castle stands: it was a military patrol passage .
