A car covered in chocolate, and plenty of stands exhibiting a wide variety of Modica chocolate, including ‘iPod’ chocolate which can easily be mistaken for the real thing, were among the many items on display or for sale at the renowned Chocobarocco festival, also known as Choco Modica, held in the centre of the historical baroque town of Modica, Sicily last month.

In a nutshell, the three-day festival brought together the finest of chocolate companies, presenting a diverse array of chocolate-inspired products that definitely tantalise the senses.

The Modican chocolate is fast becoming famous, thanks to an ancient tradition coming from the Aztec culture of Mesoamerica. Spanish conquistadores, during their rule of Sicily in the late XVI century, brought in the area seed of cocoa and the process of making it, which Modican inhabitants have left original.

During the three-day festival, visitors indulged in chocolates of various flavours, including cinnamon-based, chilli, vanilla, salt, peperoncino and other flavours, while one could also witness the preparation of the chocolate bar itself. The peculiarity of Modica’s chocolate is to be raw and granulose. It is cold worked without the addition of milk. In Modica, there are a lot of “cioccolateria” shops where it is also possible to taste and to buy the chocolate.

Also, worthy of note, were the impressive light displays on the church facades.

Speaker of the House Anglu Farrugia also paid a visit to the festival where he was warmly welcomed by the head of the festival’s consortium, Antonio Scivoletto, and the town’s mayor, Ignazio Abbate. Dr Farrugia and his wife were given a performance by the Bersaglieri military band – the Italian Army Corps - on their arrival.

During the festival, Modica’s streets and historic palaces host various activities dedicated both to the traditional chocolate and other traditional sweets but prominence is also given to the town’s art and culture. In fact, visitors to the festival were given guided excursions of the baroque attractions of Modica.

Cooking demonstrations were also held in a specially-designed culinary theatre by renowned chocolatiers and pastry chefs. The “Premio giornalistico Pippo Tumino" was also presented to journalists by the town’s mayor and the head of the consortium. The prize is each year awarded to a journalist, local or foreign, for having promoted the historical town of Modica and its festival during the previous year.

Modica is located in a gorge with its main street, Corso Umberto, built on a river bed. Old buildings still stand on each side of the locality, once the region’s leading town. The Cathedral of St Peter, with the statues of the 12 apostles, watches over Corso Umberto.

In 1693, Modica was hit by an earthquake and catastrophe struck again in 1901 when the town was flooded.

The writer travelled to Sicily by catamaran courtesy of Virtu Ferries.