Casa Natale Salvatore Quasimodo

Salvatore Quasimodo was born in this house on Via Posterla in Modica on 20 August 1901. The Casa Natale museum preserves his personal history through a Milanese study, bedroom, photographs, books and documents associated with the Nobel Prize-winning poet.

Why it matters

Quasimodo received the 1959 Nobel Prize in Literature. His birthplace connects Modica’s local history with the life and work of a major twentieth-century Italian poet. The Ministry of Culture recognises the house as a place of memory tied to the history of its territory.

What to notice

The museum’s principal rooms recreate the poet’s Milanese study and bedroom, with furniture and personal objects, autographed photographs and special editions of his work. A reading room and a multimedia room were added in 2016. The house also preserves the room where Quasimodo was born.

Context and history

Quasimodo was born in Modica in 1901 and later became one of Italy’s leading poets. His first collection, Acque e Terre, appeared in 1930; Ed è subito sera followed in 1942. He received the Nobel Prize in 1959. The house was restored as a museum dedicated to his life and work, while the wider city’s literary heritage is also represented by a park of poetry panels conceived by his son Alessandro.