Chiesa rupestre di San Nicolò inferiore, Modica

Discovered in 1987 by the scholar from Modica Duccio Belgiorno in a cave used as a storage room and acquired in 1992 by the Center for Studies on the County of Modica, the rock church of S. Nicolò Inferiore is considered the oldest church in Modica.

Composed of a single room of about 45 sqm, it boasts an apse completely covered with icons in Byzantine style, where in the central position dominates the Christ Pantocrator enclosed in a large mandorla and surrounded by angels. Excavation works have also brought to light, at floor level, a series of earth 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.