Modica is called Muorica in sicilian language and it is a Commune in the province of Ragusa in SIcilia island and one of the places declared Humankind Patrimony by UNESCO.
The origin of the name comes from the Fenician Mùtika (hotel, house) or from the Sicilian Mùrika (bare rock, not tillable).
Its urban land develops along a wide plateau furrowed by deep canyons (called "cave").
Two rivers pass throughout the land and share the plateau in four hills: Pizzo on the northern side, Itria on the western side, Giacanta on the eastern side and Monserrato on the southern side.
Nowadays the water flows Pozzo dei Pruni and Janni Mauro are almost dried off and join together to create a third flow called Modicano, whose riverbed has been filled up on the early 1900 thus becoming the modern Umberto I way, the main on in the city.
The Modicano was considered a perennial river, up to the first decades of 1900 since it is powered by permanent watersources. Among them there is the Fontana Grande that allowed the creation of 20 water mills thanks to its waters along the river Mothukanus (as Tolomeo called it). Then came the industrial mills and the water of sources was piped in the city water net.
Between 1700 and 1800, along the banks of the flows, 17 bridges for the passage of men, animals and chariots from one shore to the opposite were worth for Modica of a room in the Treccani Encyclopedia as it is considered the most featuring town in Italy after Venezia.
The Commune of Modica is proud of a large land developed on its length and starting from the slopes of Iblei mountains at about 500 meters above sea level by the Mountain communes of Giarratana, Monterosso Almo and Palazzolo Acreide, goes down slowly up to the coast that faces over the Sicilia Channel with its sea towns such as Maganuco and Marina di Modica.
The highest point corresponds to the bell tower of Sain John Evangelist in Upper Modica, while the seat of the Commune, in Lower Modica lays at 296 mt high above sea level.