Rock Church of San Nicolò Inferiore, Modica

Discovered in 1987 by Modica scholar Duccio Belgiorno in a cave used as a storage room and acquired in 1992 by the Centro Studi sulla Contea di Modica, the Rock Church of S. Nicolò Inferiore is considered the oldest church in Modica.

Consisting of a single room of about 45 sqm, it features an apse completely covered with icons in Byzantine style, where in the central position stands the Christ Pantocrator enclosed in a large mandorla and surrounded by angels. Excavation works also uncovered, at floor level, a series of earthen tombs, still largely unexplored. The rock church represents the most eloquent and best-preserved example of Byzantine-origin rock architecture that has left important traces not only in the iblea area but, more broadly, throughout the island.