🎉 Patron saint festival

Feast of Saint George

📍 Modica · Ragusa · Sicily

Carried at a run by the Sangiorgiari, the statue of Saint George spearing the dragon races through upper and lower Modica before a fireworks-lit return to the cathedral.

Saint George shares the patronage of Modica with Saint Peter, but his feast — normally the Sunday after 23 April — is the louder of the two. The nineteenth-century statue of the knight on horseback spearing the dragon is carried on the shoulders of the «Sangiorgiari» up the slopes of Modica Alta and through the lower town.

The bearers don't walk it: they run it, in short fast bursts meant to mimic a horse's gallop, showered with colored paper and firecrackers. Late at night, after the fireworks, the statue re-enters the Duomo di San Giorgio and is spun at a run between the naves. In 2025 the feast ran from 6 to 11 May, with the procession on the final Sunday.

Source & programme ↗ ✉️ Know something about this event? Tell us

More events in Modica

Procession

Madonna Vasa-Vasa

📅 Every year on Easter Sunday

At noon on Easter Sunday the articulated statue of the Madonna bows and kisses the risen Christ; her black mourning cloak falls away and white doves take flight. Documented since 1645.

Patron saint festival

Feast of Saint Peter

📅 Every year on 29 June

On 29 June the 1893 oak statue group of Saint Peter healing the paralytic is carried along Corso Umberto I; the evening return is lit by torches, with the traditional fair alongside.

Festival

Settimana Quasimodiana

📅 Every year in the week of 20 August

In the week around 20 August — the birthday of Nobel laureate Salvatore Quasimodo — his birthplace museum and the literary park fill Modica with readings, talks and evening walks.

Festival

ChocoModica

📅 Every year, historically in early December; the 2026 edition is announced for a new date

Tasting stands, workshops and meetings with the makers of Modica's PGI cold-worked chocolate fill Corso Umberto I. After skipping 2025, the festival is set to return in 2026.

All events in Modica →