Destination wedding in Modica
Two hundred and fifty steps, one cathedral and the smell of chocolate.
Region
Val di Noto
Best months
April to June and September to October. The gorge holds the heat in midsummer.
Getting there
About 1 hour 40 minutes from Catania airport. Civil ceremonies are celebrated at Palazzo San Domenico. The staircases are the character of the town but also its main logistical constraint: shoes, transfers and timing need planning.
Getting married in Modica
Modica is built inside a gorge, houses stacked on top of each other along the slopes and connected by staircases. The Cattedrale di San Giorgio sits at the top of a monumental flight of 250 steps — the most cinematic church entrance and exit in Sicily.
The town is famous for its cold-worked chocolate, made with an Aztec technique brought by the Spanish, and that culinary identity often becomes part of the wedding: chocolate tasting for guests, and a couple session through the shops and alleys of Modica Bassa.
Venues and locations I use in Modica
- Cattedrale di San Giorgio and its monumental staircase
- Chiesa di San Pietro — the second great baroque church of the town
- Palazzo dei Mercedari and restored noble houses for receptions
- Country estates in the surrounding Iblei valleys
- Marina di Modica for beach portraits, twenty minutes away
Frequently asked questions
Is the San Giorgio staircase difficult in a wedding dress?
It is manageable if you go down rather than up, and if we schedule it in the last hour of light when the stone is warm and the steps are quiet.
Can we combine Modica with Ragusa and Scicli?
Yes, the three towns are within twenty five minutes of each other and are frequently combined into a two-day celebration.
Nearby wedding destinations
Val di Noto
Ragusa Ibla
A stone town on a ridge, wrapped in a valley of olive trees.
Val di Noto
Scicli
The quiet baroque town that Italian cinema fell in love with.
Val di Noto
Noto
The capital of Sicilian baroque, carved in golden stone.
Val di Noto
Donnafugata
A neo-gothic castle, a stone maze and a park of a thousand trees.