In Modica, along with the artificial caves for residential use, places intended for cura animarum were obtained, the many rock churches still found today both in urban and extra-moenia. In the heart of the historic center, on Grimaldi Street, is the church dedicated to St. Nicolò. Built between the 11th and 12th centuries, when the island was returned to Christianity with the Norman conquest, it constitutes one of the most important negative religious architectures present in southeastern Sicily. Since it is likely the parish church of the Greek-speaking district of Modica, the Eastern rite was initially officiated in it, which was gradually abandoned as the process of Latinization took hold. In 1577 the church of San Nicolò was annexed to the nearby and more important parish of San Pietro.
