The Sifilicomio Campailla – Museum of Medicine

The Sifilicomio Campailla – Museum of Medicine, located in Piazza Matteotti in Modica, is a rare and valuable example of an 18th-century health facility dedicated to the treatment of syphilis, a widespread and feared disease at the time. The complex is famous for housing the famous mercurial stoves, stone rooms designed to subject patients to therapeutic vapours containing mercury, an innovative practice at the time. This methodology was devised by the famous Modican physician and philosopher Tommaso Campailla (1668-1740), who pioneered experimental medicine. The museum preserves original instruments, period furniture and information panels detailing the medical practices and scientific theories of the time. Carefully and rigorously restored, the site offers visitors a unique and fascinating testimony to a significant page in the history of medicine and science in Sicily, paying tribute to Modica’s contribution to medical progress.