Among the most prosperous cities in Southern Italy, the city of Ragusa has been rediscovered in recent years as an exceptional tourist destination, thanks to its baroque charm nestled in the old part of town (Ragusa), the beautiful beaches of the coast, and many other points of interest scattered throughout the province. Since 2002, the city of Ragusa joined the UNESCO list, with 18 World Heritage Sites.The first traces of settlements are dated back to around the third millennium BC. The high incentives were the abundant inland waterways which presented favorable conditions for primitive populations who settled in this area. The fate of the city mirrored those of the rest of Sicily, with the alternating conquests of the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and Muslims. It became an important agricultural and administrative center throughout the Middle-Ages, and also suffered the tragic events of the earthquake of 1693.

The historical town of Modica is located in the south-eastern part of the island in about 20 km distance from Ragusa. The elegancy of its buildings and streets richly decorated with baroque motives gave a significant boost to the town’s tourism. A further contribution was the annexation to the communities of the world cultural heritage of the UNESCO in 2002. Modica is built at the foot of a rocky ridge where once two rivers flew which are underground today. In the past the town became an important centre of southern Sicily being the head of the homonymous county. Today the town is composed of two urban agglomerations: the Upper and the Lower Modica, both are fascinating in equal way for different reasons. The Modica tourist may not miss, in no case, a culinary visit to one of the numerous shops where the delicious Modica chocolate is made and sold.