Welcome to Modica Città Presepe.
Here you can browse the photos and videos of the presepi constructed over the last 10 years all of which reflect some aspect of Modica – the UNESCO baroque city in the Val di Noto which is often compared to a presepe due its morphology and striking views.
The town is also compared to a split pomegranite, as the houses tumble down the sides of gorges creating a layered pattern of monochrome buildings interspersed with churches and monuments.
The hillside of Cartellone which is now houses is, in fact, a vast amount of caves dug into the rock, which until the last century were homes. In the local style a grotta had a soppalco (rudimentary first floor made of wood) and the animals lived on the ground floor, while the people slept on the soppalco, the heat of the animals providing warmth. Space was at a premium, large families with a donkey and goat, some chickens and possibly a pig, all in the same tiny space. Gradually a room was added in front of the grotta, and the houses were built. Nearly all the houses in Modica Bassa against a rock face have a grotta behind them.
