I knew there was a castle here in town that I must visit but each time I walked past, it looked closed, at least partially. Therefore, it was low on my priority of places to see. However, the more I though about leaving without seeing it, the more I needed to go. Today was the day I went exploring the Castle of the Counts in Modica.
Brief History
There seem to be various stories online concerning the Castello dei Conti’s history. First mentioned in literature as far back as 1255, the building was a fortress that housed the court, administrative offices and prison for the County of Modica, which was the capital city at the time.
After the devastating earthquake in 1693, much of it was rebuilt including a massive clock on the space of the old watchtower right at the tip of the hillside. The entire facility was abandoned in 1861 after Italy was unified and the religious orders were expelled from their convents and monasteries.
Today
It seems that up until recently, the fortress and buildings were used as museums and such. What I found when I visited today was the entire place is empty. In fact, the whole portion at the tip of the hillside is closed to public access as well.
Largest Building
Called a commune on the sign at the street, this huge building now sits empty except for one room that had rows of chairs set up and three pieces of art work. The remainder of this massive building is devoid of anything, well the rooms that were unlocked anyways.
In the middle is a pretty courtyard, but again stark and empty. At the far side, I peeked through a small gap in the huge locked doors and could see that there is work being done on the church that sits at the end of the commune closest to the clock.
Stone Castle
At the front side, where you enter the grounds, is the largest portion of what remains of what I would typically think of as a castle. There are a few tall stone walls visible from outside the ticket office.
Inside, after passing through a narrow archway, are the remains of low wide stone walls. A walkway has been constructed above this area so one may pass over and look down into the rooms.
There really is nothing to see here. A long empty building and what remains of broken stone walls. The views however, from the walkway are stunning!
The Caves
I was feeling super disappointed by the whole experience at this point. As I was heading towards the ticket booth to leave, I decided to take a path to the right after the arch. I’m glad I did, because this lead me down the entire back side of the castle, along the stone face.
What I found here are the ancient cave dwellings where the peoples of the area lived before there was traditional housing built.
It was really cool! Some areas are roped off, however if you keep walking, you come to a place where you can enter into the largest cave and walk around. There is even entry into a tunnel of sorts that was super scary, and has no lighting, so watch your footing!
I was only able to walk in a little way as it was just too scary and creepy.
For me, this was the best part of this site. The empty commune and old low stone walls were a real let down. But these cave dwellings saved the day. I’m sure when this facility was in full swing, with the ethnographic museum open, and puppet display, it would have been a much different experience. Still, it was only €3 so one cannot really complain. 🙂
