World Heritage Towns of Ragusa Ibla and Modica

Roman doorway in Ragusa Ibla

In the Ragusa region are 3 UNESCO World Heritage Towns, Ragusa Ibla (lower town), Modica (both upper and lower towns) and Scicli (a small and charming town, with a pretty central piazza and not very many tourists, unlike Ragusa Ibla and Modica).  These towns began in the deep river valleys that are common in Sicily and today also occupy the steep sides of the valleys and the ridgetops.

flood water line (dark line in wall) 

In 1693, a huge earthquake destroyed most of the buildings in all 3 towns.  The citizens rebuilt them, but Modica and Scicli were again destroyed in a terrible flood in 1902, a wall of water 30 feet high resulting from 2 swollen rivers coming together in the center of Modica and continuing on down the narrow valley to overwhelm Scicli.  I took a photo of the high water line marked on one of the old buildings.

Baroque church facade in Ragusa Ibla

Again, the towns were rebuilt, not always with great architecture.  But, many of the Baroque churches of the early 18th century were restored, though many more are abandoned and decaying. There are also Baroque, neoclassical and even art deco villas from the last several centuries.  Some are still occupied by the descendants of the families who built them.  Others remain abandoned, waiting for someone with lots of money to restore them to their earlier splendor.

Modica's old Jewish quarter and upper city

If you love Baroque architecture and decoration, these are the towns for you, particularly if you love Baroque churches.  If these aren't for you, I would skip Ragusa Ibla, but spend some time in both Modica and Scicli which are charming and give you a good picture of Sicily's architectural and artistic history.  Then, even more important, if you're a chocolate lover, spend some time in Modica's chocolate shops learning about how they make their very unique chocolate (see below).

neoclassical buildings in Modica

You reach the valley floors down very steep and winding roads, with lots of hairpin turns.  These don't deter the Sicilian drivers, who seem to think a double line is just a suggestion for a quick glance to see if a huge truck is hurtling towards you before you pass on a blind curve.  Since we're driving, I'm particularly irritated by the drivers in the big black cars that nip my rear bumper even when there is no place for me to go on the narrow roads and no opportunity for them to pass.

So, back to chocolate.  Modica is known for its cool manufacturing process of Sicilian chocolate, which is very different from the smooth, buttery chocolates we know from Northern Europe (and now the US).  I love the Sicilian chocolate, which is grainy (I'll explain why), while Don prefers the smoother varieties we usually eat.

model showing old method of blending chocolate and sugar

Modica's chocolate is, as I said, made in a cool process.  While most dark chocolates are made by heating the chocolate to a high temperature so it melts and adding butter or oil, the Modica chocolate is not melted before making the candy (dare I use that word?).  A wonderful woman in one of the chocolate factories explained the process to us.

The cocoa fruit ranges from about the size of a small papaya to the size of a very large one.  The small fruits contain about 30 beans.  It takes 1000 beans to make a kilo of bitter chocolate. Originally, the plant came from Central America, but was taken to Africa (Ivory Coast and Ghana, among other places) and South America, where it thrived and still produces excellent cocoa.

When removed from the fruit, the bean is white and tasteless.  It is fermented for 15 days before being roasted.  For Sicilian chocolate, the roasted bean is ground, usually between 2 stones.  Next, the chocolatier heats the ground chocolate (very bitter) to 104 degrees (as opposed to melting it at about 170 degrees) until it becomes a thick paste, which is stored in limestone caves in the cliffs surrounding Modica until they need it for making the chocolates we eat.  No oils are added to this chocolate paste, so it's just pure chocolate.

Ragusa Ibla alleyway

Sugar crystals are mixed into the paste, today by a large electric mixer, but until about 12 years ago, by hand with what looks like a rolling pin on a curved, grooved stone.  This mixes the sugar evenly throughout the chocolate paste.  Because the paste is cool, the sugar doesn't melt into the mixture, which gives these bars their grainy texture.

The sugared paste next goes into a small mold, which one shakes to smooth out the bar, before being refrigerated.  The final step is to remove the bar from the mold and package it.  In Modica today, you can get chocolate bars in at least 30 flavors, from fruits to spices, and with different percentages of chocolate. I think they are divine and sampled just about every flavor before buying what I prefer, 70% cocoa without any added flavoring.