Chiesa rupestre di San Nicolò inferiore, Modica

Discovered in 1987 by the Modican 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.

Composed of a single space of about 45 sqm, it features an apse completely covered with icons in Byzantine style, where in the central position the Christ Pantocrator sits majestically enclosed in a large mandorla and surrounded by angels. Excavation works have also brought to light, at floor level, a series of terracotta tombs, still largely unexplored. The rock church represents the most eloquent and best preserved example of a rock architecture of Byzantine origin that has left important traces not only in the Iblean area but, more broadly, throughout the island.